


A Certain More Honest Railgun

by calvinhobbesliker



Category: Toaru Kagaku no Railgun | A Certain Scientific Railgun, Toaru Majutsu no Index | A Certain Magical Index
Genre: Characters Actually Sharing Information with Each Other, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:53:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 93,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27238363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calvinhobbesliker/pseuds/calvinhobbesliker
Summary: The night after the penalty game, Mikoto wonders where it all went wrong. She recalls her sister telling her she wasn't being honest about Touma, and so decides to see what would happen if she takes her sister's advice the net time she sees him. Mikoto might just find that it works even better than she thinks.
Relationships: Kamijou Touma/Misaka Mikoto
Comments: 39
Kudos: 223





	1. A Second Try

Misaka Mikoto lay in her bed, lost in thought. It had been a really long and somewhat frustrating day. Her penalty game with that idiot had gone completely awry, and afterwards they had gotten involved in some trouble that was brewing in Academy City. She had helped him and that nun out in saving their friend, but Mikoto still didn’t know many of the details, especially since the nun had hung up on her instead of explaining what was going on.

Having mentally revisited the scenes in Seventh Mist over and over again, Mikoto sighed, “ _ I really lost my temper again when I saw him hanging out with my sister. Why can’t I ever keep my cool around him? I always get either angry or flustered.”  _ She recalled the sequence of events, “ _ I was gone for a while looking at Gekota merchandise, so of course he would help her find her goggles when she asked. And I chose to ditch him soon after that, so I guess it’s my fault we didn’t spend more time together.” _

That last thought prompted her to question herself, “ _ Wait, why do I want to spend so much time with that idiot anyway?”  _ She suddenly started recalling the scene where they tried to take a photo of them as a couple for the pair contract, and Mikoto blushed while remembering how nice their partial hug had felt. Too bad Kuroko had been as annoying as usual and interrupted their moment.  _ “I might need to have a serious talk with her about ruining our times together. She even interrupted us during the folk dance! He definitely doesn’t deserve to get drop kicked just because of Kuroko’s perverted crush on me.” _

Mikoto concluded, _“I guess it’s not too bad being with him. He got on my nerves a lot, but he did go along with the pair contract, and he didn’t complain about taking that picture together.”_ Recalling what her sister said to her, she wondered, “ _What did she mean when she said I wasn’t being honest with him? I wasn’t lying about dragging him around to a bunch of shops for the penalty game.”_ Mikoto had instantly denied it at the time, but now that she had more time to think about it, she wondered if there wasn’t some truth to her sister’s jab.

The girl buried her face in her pillow as she came to a realization, “ _ Ahh, who am I kidding. She obviously meant that I have feelings for that idiot. I mean, I’ve been interested in him ever since I met him and found out he could negate my ability. But ever since he saved me and my sisters, I always get nervous and flustered when thinking about him or being around him. Of course, he definitely hasn’t noticed or anything.”  _

Her sister had then taken a “more direct approach” and grabbed onto the boy’s arm, showing off the heart-shaped necklace he bought her. “ _ I guess my sister likes him too. No surprise, he did save her too, after all.”  _

She continued thinking of her sister with that boy,  _ “I should ask him why he bought her that necklace. Does he like her too? He always seems annoyed whenever he’s around me, but he didn’t have any problems being with her. Maybe he does prefer the little sister type.” _

Mikoto sighed, “ _He probably doesn’t even see me as a friend. But I guess we’ve never gotten the chance to see each other_ _outside of dangerous situations. The only times we’ve hung out together were during that fake date and the penalty game.”_ In both of those cases, she had a pretext for them to be together, but she hadn’t ever tried to ask him to hang out with her. _“What if I were to be more direct, like my sister? Could I just go up to that idiot the next time I see him and ask him to hang out?”_

The girl’s face became almost entirely red as she imagined herself doing that, and she was unsure if she could actually go through with it for real.  _ “But if I manage to ask him honestly, and tell him that I have no ulterior motive, maybe he’ll see me differently? He thought I was really looking forward to making him suffer during the penalty game, but I really just wanted to spend some time with him.”  _

Mikoto hated that the boy only seemed to see her as an annoyance.  _ “I guess it doesn’t help that I try to shock him almost every time we see each other. I’m not really trying to hurt him, since he always blocks my attacks, but I can’t blame him for being wary of me. Okay then, I just need to make sure to keep my temper in check the next time I see him! Hopefully then he won’t just run away from me again, and maybe I can apologize to him for acting childish today.” _

Due to the pair contract, they had gotten each other’s phone numbers. Mikoto wasn’t sure if he would respond to any texts or calls, since he always seemed to be busy, but she was sure she would run into him in person before long. Then, he wouldn’t be able to ignore her as easily. Mikoto smiled now that she had come up with a solid plan for the next time she ran into that boy. She soon began to fall asleep, imagining what they could do together the next time they hung out.

Meanwhile, Kuroko had been silently observing her roommate from her own bed. She knew that her onee-sama and that troglodyte had done their penalty game earlier today, but Kuroko couldn’t understand why she had been looking so forward to it. Kuroko had run into them earlier at the underground mall, and she had been furious when she saw them embracing each other for a photo. Fortunately, she was able to dispatch him before he did anything more to her onee-sama, but she was still concerned about his bad influence on her roommate.

Once they had both returned home, Kuroko saw that Mikoto seemed frustrated, and figured that the boy had done something to hurt her.  _ “I don’t like seeing onee-sama look like that, but maybe now she’ll finally realize that that troglodyte is not worthy of her!”  _ She still seemed frustrated when she went to bed, and as Kuroko watched her, she could tell that Mikoto was a bit sad and thinking hard about something. Eventually, however, seemed to come to a resolution and smiled again. Kuroko smiled as well,  _ “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better, onee-sama! Maybe you’ve finally realized that I’m the only one for you!”  _

After fantasizing about her roommate and for a bit, Kuroko recalled something odd she had seen earlier that day. While walking around in Seventh Mist, she thought she saw her onee-sama running as if she was chasing someone. That in itself was not too unusual, but she had also been carrying a submachine gun! Kuroko had only seen a glimpse of the girl and had called out to her, but she quickly disappeared. She couldn’t think of any reason for Mikoto to carry a gun, since her powers were more than enough.  _ “It must have been someone that just looked like onee-sama. But she was definitely wearing a Tokiwadai uniform, and I’ve never seen her around the school before. As a member of Judgement, I’ll have to look into this further.”  _ With that resolved, Kuroko soon fell asleep as well.

* * *

The next day, Mikoto made her regular trip to the vending machine after school. As usual, she delivered a strong kick to the machine, forcing it to dispense a drink. While enjoying her drink, the girl began observing her surroundings.  _ “I usually run into him around here, but what are the odds he’d show up today, of all days? There’s no way I’d be that lucky.”  _ She took out her phone and brought up Kamijou Touma’s contact, wondering if she should send him a text. But before Mikoto could do so, she caught a glimpse of spiky black hair, and looked up to see the boy in question.

Touma was walking along the path past the vending machine, tired from yet another long day of school. Looking forward to heading straight home, he made the mistake of turning his head to the right. He immediately saw the girl and, before he could think of any way to escape, Mikoto looked up and made eye contact with him. Her eyes widened in surprise, but the girl quickly shouted, “Hey, you!” and started approaching the boy, causing him to panic.  _ “Just my rotten luck! Of course I would run into her! And there’s no way I can get away from her now.” _

The girl was soon in front of him, and Touma could tell that she was determined to talk to him about something.  _ “Misaka got pretty mad at me yesterday for some reason, but then we had to deal with the trouble caused by Vento. Is she still angry?”  _ Bracing himself, the boy smiled and greeted her, “Hey Biri-Biri, what’s up?”

_ “Ugh, there’s that annoying nickname again!”  _ Mikoto usually became really annoyed whenever he called her that, but she let it slide this time so her plan could work. Instead of yelling at him for using that nickname, the girl asked the boy, “Are you free this weekend?” 

Touma was a bit surprised she didn’t comment on the nickname, but she still had a slightly irritated expression on her face. He hesitantly replied, “I don’t have any plans or anything, but with my luck I might get caught up in trouble. Why?” The boy was a bit worried about what the girl was planning. It didn’t seem like she was still angry about the penalty game, but he could never be certain with her.

Mikoto’s face reddened as she gathered her courage, but she soon managed to ask, “Okay, do you want to hang out then? Since we got interrupted yesterday, I mean?” The girl looked down and played with her fingers as she made this request.  _ “Oh man, why is this so embarrassing? It’s not like I’m asking him out on a date or anything.”  _

The boy was confused and a bit suspicious, “Huh? Was yesterday not enough for you? You’re extending the penalty game even longer?”

The girl shook her head, “No, no, that’s not it, I just meant that we could hang out normally. The penalty game only lasts for a day anyway.”

Touma sighed in relief, “Oh okay, then sure. I was afraid you were still mad and wanted to make me suffer some more.” The boy wondered, “ _ But why does she want to meet up if not for the penalty game? It’s not something we usually do.” _

Mikoto thought she would be irritated, but his comment just made her feel depressed. She muttered, “I guess that’s what you really think of me, huh?” The girl clenched her fists and added, “Look, about that, I’m sorry for losing my temper at you yesterday. I know you didn’t really do anything wrong.” 

The boy was a bit confused by her apology, but tentatively replied, “Oh, that’s all right. But why were you so mad anyway? Was it something I said or did?” Mikoto never really explained what was bothering her, and the only thing he could guess is that it had something to do with her sister. 

The girl sighed _ , “He’s really making me say it out loud, isn’t he? Well, I told myself I’d be more honest with him, so here goes.”  _ Mikoto explained, “You know, I was actually looking forward to spending the afternoon with you, and not just because of the penalty game. We’ve known each other for a while and run into each other a lot, but we’ve never really hung out together at all. I thought we were just going to have some fun hanging out together, just with me ordering you around a bit. But you were complaining the entire time, even though you were the one to propose the bet in the first place. It was frustrating enough when Kuroko interrupted the photo, but then I came out and saw you with my sister, and I was mad you ditched me to spend time with her instead. I’d been waiting for that day since the end of the Daihasei Festival, and it felt like everything had gone wrong, so that’s why I felt really mad and frustrated. But none of that was really your fault, so I’m sorry for being childish and taking it out on you.” The girl’s face reddened as she admitted this, and her voice became softer with each sentence, but she did manage to say everything she wanted to.

Touma was pretty surprised, “ _ Wow, I didn’t know she felt that way. I did tease her about treasuring meeting me during the folk dance, but maybe I was right about that, though she has a weird way of showing it. I should apologize too, it looks like I misunderstood her feelings.”  _ He replied, “I see, I didn’t know you were looking forward to it so much. But, you’re right, I wasn’t really great company for you, was I? Your penalty game wasn’t really that bad anyway. I’m sorry, Misaka. I didn’t realize you just wanted to spend time with me. I guess that’s why you showed up early?”

She meekly nodded, “Yeah, I guess so.” Mikoto was a bit surprised that he apologized too, but remembered,  _ “He may be an idiot, but at least he always knows exactly what to say to make me feel better.” _

The girl continued, “Anyway, how about we get lunch on Saturday?” Now that they had both apologized, she moved on to the main part of her plan.

The boy answered, “Sure, that sounds good. I guess we can text each other now, so we can figure out the details later.” Seeing her nod in confirmation, Touma waved at her, “Cool, see you around, Biri-Biri!” 

The nickname instantly annoyed Mikoto, who angrily pointed at the boy, “You better not be late again, you idiot! And stop calling me that!” 

Touma grinned, “Yes, of course, Misaka-san, I’ll do my best.” His misfortune would probably delay him again, but the boy didn’t want to upset her any more. 

Both of them then parted ways and began heading home, not wanting to miss curfew. As soon as Mikoto was far enough away, she pumped her fists with a grin, “Yes! I got that idiot to agree!” Realizing that people had noticed her outburst, she blushed and kept her thoughts to herself. “ _ That wasn’t as hard as I thought it’d be. I was expecting him to question me a bit more, but he is the kind of guy who wouldn’t think too much about something like this.” _

Mikoto started daydreaming about what could happen with Touma on Saturday. Maybe they would feed each other during lunch. And afterwards they could take a walk while holding hands, and maybe she could hug him when they said goodbye.

These fantasies caused Mikoto to blush heavily, and she shook her head to clear out her thoughts. “ _ Wait, why am I thinking of this like a date? I mean, it wouldn’t be so bad to do those sorts of things with him, but he’s definitely just going to see this as lunch between friends. Well, whatever, that’s still more progress than I’ve made so far.”  _ She was glad that her plan was going well so far, “ _ Being more honest actually helped a lot! Maybe I should thank my sister the next time I see her.”  _

Meanwhile, Touma also reflected on the conversation with Mikoto as he walked home.  _ “Man, I never expected Misaka to actually admit something like that to me out loud. She was looking forward to yesterday and I just had to ruin it by acting like a jerk. She didn’t even make me do anything that bad, just sign up for a phone contract and take a picture together. I better make it up to her on Saturday.” _

The boy then recalled what happened later that evening, _ “And even though she was still mad, Misaka helped us a lot in saving Kazakiri.”  _ She saved him and Index from those men with guns, and according to Index, Mikoto’s scientific explanations were crucial in curing the girl who was the core of the power that had been responsible for Kazakiri’s actions. “ _ I still need to thank her for that. It helped a lot to have her on our side.” _

In any case, it seemed like Mikoto wanted to go from being good acquaintances to being friends. “ _ Come to think of it, other than yesterday, the only other time we hung out was that fake date. It was annoying that she pulled me away from my friends, but she was pretty nice to me afterward. She bought me food and even helped me with my homework! Though it was embarrassing to get help from a middle schooler. _ Anyway,  _ hopefully Saturday will be better than yesterday.” _

Mikoto and Touma continued their trips home, both of them a bit anxious but also cautiously optimistic for their next meeting. 


	2. Comparing Notes

On Saturday morning, Mikoto had clearly been in a very cheerful mood, which had made Kuroko suspicious. Kuroko had grilled her about why she looked so happy and what her plans were for the day, but Mikoto was able to throw her off by claiming she was looking forward to going to the store and reading some of her favorite manga. She definitely wanted to prevent her roommate from interrupting them yet again, or else her day would be ruined.

She and Touma had agreed to meet at the usual vending machine at 11:30 AM. The girl arrived a bit early, but only by a few minutes rather than half an hour.  _ “Don’t want that idiot to think I’m that desperate to see him!”  _ After waiting for some time, she saw the boy jogging towards her, arriving a few minutes late. She blushed a bit and began feeling nervous,  _ “Why is my heart beating so fast?”  _ Mikoto shook her head a few times to compose herself before he reached her. 

Touma stopped in front of her and paused to catch his breath. “Sorry, Misaka-san! I tried to arrive on time, but I had some rotten luck on my way here.” He had managed to leave his dorm without Index raising a fuss, but he got delayed tripping over things and bumping into people a number of times. 

The girl sighed, “Well, at least you’re not as late as last time. So, where do you want to go for lunch?” 

Touma rubbed his head as he answered, “Hmm, how about a fast food place? Unfortunately, this poor Kamijou-san can’t afford to go to a fancy restaurant.” This was compounded by having to provide for Index, who ate multiple times as much food as a normal adult. The boy had enough sense to not mention this part to Mikoto, however.

_ “Yeah, that’s pretty much what I expected him to say.”  _ The girl smiled at him and offered, “You know, I don’t mind paying for you. I’m the one who invited you, after all.” Mikoto added to herself,  _ “And you’ve saved me twice, but you wouldn’t accept that as a reason.” _

The girl then wondered, a bit too late,  _ “Wait, if I pay for him because I asked him to lunch, wouldn’t this be like a date?” _

The boy replied, “That’s nice of you, Misaka, but I’d rather pay for myself. It’d hurt my pride to owe money to a middle schooler.” Touma was by now used to living frugally, and although it would be nice to accept Mikoto’s offer this one time, he was afraid of making it into a habit.

Mikoto sighed,  _ “Of course he’d say that, I shouldn’t have worried at all.”  _ She suggested, “Okay, how about that place we tried last time, at the end of summer break? I bought the food, but we never got the chance to eat it.”

Touma nodded, “Sounds good.” They then started heading towards that restaurant, both hoping they’d be able to finish the meal without getting interrupted by a fight like last time.

* * *

Mikoto and Touma were now sitting at a table outside, having ordered and received their food. Soon after they started eating, Mikoto asked, “So, can we talk about all the stuff that happened that other day?” The girl had questions about what happened in the mall and especially about what happened out in the city that night, and she hoped that the boy could help answer them.

Touma nodded, “Yeah sure, but you’re not still mad at me, right?” Since they had already apologized to each other, the boy wondered what she wanted to talk about instead.

She shook her head, “I’m not, but I’m still curious about a few things. What exactly were you doing with my sister? Were you really just helping her find her goggles? And why did you buy her a necklace?” Mikoto especially wanted to know about that heart-shaped necklace. Was it a romantic present or was he idiotic enough to innocently buy it for her without considering the implications?

The boy answered, “Yeah, she really did want me to help her find her goggles. But without them, she looked just like you, so I suggested that we get her an accessory so I could distinguish you two apart. I suggested a ring at first, but switched to a necklace since that would be more visible from far away. She seemed to like that necklace, so I bought it for her.” 

Mikoto immediately concluded,  _ “Yep, he’s an idiot all right. Whatever, there’s no point in dwelling any more on the necklace, it’d just be awkward..”  _ She then realized a detail from his explanation that she’d initially overlooked, “Wait, you were going to buy her a ring at first?” 

Touma nodded, “Yeah, and when I got her the necklace she was mumbling something about a ring on her left hand, so maybe she wanted a ring instead? But it would’ve been too hard to see a ring from far away, so that’s why we went for the necklace.” 

Mikoto facepalmed upon hearing this,  _ “Man, this guy really is something else. Now I’m glad he just bought her a necklace. My sister rubbed that necklace in my face, but I shouldn’t have worried about it at all.”  _ Deciding to move on from talking about the necklace, she replied, “Okay, so did you guys start looking for her goggles after that?”

The boy shook his head, “No, after that we got those animal donuts, and that’s when you found us. But that mini-Misaka who grabbed my arm was the one who took her goggles. Remember, your sister pulled out that giant gun and started chasing her?”

Mikoto’s eyes widened as she recalled the scene. At the time, she hadn’t really thought about the smaller Misaka and instead went to an arcade to blow off some steam. But she never found out who that child was. “Oh yeah, that’s right! Do you know anything about that girl? Is she another clone of me? My sister said her serial number was 20001, but there were only supposed to be 20000 clones created. And she looked exactly like I did when I was a little girl.”

Touma revealed, “Yeah, actually, after you left, she found me again. She said her name is Last Order and that she's the control tower of the Misaka Network. Apparently she can send orders to all the other sisters and force them to comply.” The boy hadn’t really understood everything Last Order had said, and he was a bit miffed that she seemed smarter than him despite being a child. Nevertheless, Touma did understand that gist of her explanation.

_ “So that’s what he was doing when I was at the arcade. Hanging out with yet another one of my sisters.”  _ The girl replied, “I see, that actually makes a lot of sense. The scientists behind the experiment probably wanted a way to easily control all the clones in case they went on a rampage or something. And since she’s biologically a child instead of a teenager, it’s much easier to subdue and control her.” 

Mikoto then smirked and asked in a teasing tone, “You really like hanging out with my sisters don’t you?” Despite her tone, the girl still felt insecure about this situation. Both of her sisters had grabbed onto his arm in the mall. Although Last Order may just have thought of it as a fun game, Mikoto could tell that Misaka 10032 liked the boy. And he didn’t seem to mind being with them either.

Touma sensed a bit of danger behind her question. He nervously rubbed his head, “Well, they’re good company once you get used to their way of speaking. Last Order was a bit childish, but she seemed pretty nice. And 10032 is always interesting to hang out with, with her weird sense of humor.”

The girl sighed,  _ “Well, he’s not wrong about that sister. I just wish he liked being around me too, but I guess I can’t blame him. Besides, this is my chance to change his mind about me!”  _

Mikoto then changed the subject, “Okay, now can you tell me about what happened that night in the city? After I took care of those guys with guns, you went after your friend, right? I remember helping that nun figure out how to fix whatever the problem was, but she hung up on me once it was over without explaining anything.”

Touma winced, wondering how to explain it to her.  _ “I probably shouldn’t talk about Vento or the Magic Side, but I guess I can explain what happened with Kazakiri, since she was created by the Science Side.” _

He began, “Well, our friend Kazakiri is not a normal human. She’s created using AIM diffusion fields. Actually, I think you’ve seen her before. She was with me and Index when the underground mall was shut down at the end of summer break.”

The girl nodded, “Yeah, I remember. She’s made of AIM diffusion fields? I actually fought against something similar during the Level Upper mess, though that one looked more like a fetus.”

Touma elaborated, “Yeah, she usually appears and disappears randomly, but this time it seems like she was deliberately summoned. I think those white streams in the air were the AIM fields converging towards her.”

Mikoto added, “Well, when I was talking to the nun, she was asking about AIM fields and an electrical network based on brain waves. She said there was a girl controlling the network and her mind was being twisted, and then she cured the girl by singing her a song.” 

_ “Wait, that sounds familiar!”  _ The girl’s eyes widened as she realized, “That sounds exactly like the Misaka Network! I didn’t know about Last Order before, but she must’ve been the girl the nun was talking about! So someone must’ve planted a virus in her to control all my sisters!”

The boy’s eyes widened as well, “Oh yeah, that makes perfect sense! I found Last Order that night, and she said some bad guys had beaten up her guardian and tried to kidnap her. It’s a good thing Index found her and was able to cure her.”

Mikoto nodded, feeling that things were starting to make more sense. “But there’s still some things that don’t add up. Who was behind all of this and why did they want to summon your friend Kazakiri?” Knowing that her sisters were an integral part of the plan, she continued, “It’s probably someone pretty high up in Academy City, since they know about the Misaka Network. But why did they want to summon her? You were able to get to her, so do you have any ideas?”

Touma considered,  _ “How do I explain this without talking about magic?”  _ He then remembered that Academy City had actually officially confirmed an attack from outside, without mentioning that it was from the Magic Side. The boy answered, “Well, apparently Academy City was invaded that night, so maybe Kazakiri was being used to fight back against the invaders?” Touma of course knew that the invader was Vento of the Front. He didn’t know the exact details, but Vento had seemed way too injured from just his attacks, so he wondered whether Kazakiri had somehow been used to damage her. 

Mikoto recalled all the people who had fallen unconscious during that night. Was that due to these mysterious invaders? The news had said that Academy City was attacked by outside physic power users from the Roman Catholic Church, but she wasn’t sure how much of that she believed. But even if it were true, it meant that once again her innocent sisters were being used as pawns. 

The girl clenched her fists and angrily muttered, “Well, maybe they were defending Academy City from an attack, but I really don’t like that they used my sisters for it. Kihara Gensei also put a virus into my sisters to try to transform me into a Level 6 during the Daihasei Festival. I thought they would finally be safe once the experiment ended, but they keep being dragged into these things. Why can’t they just be left alone to live normal lives?”

Touma looked at her troubled face and tried to think of a way to make her feel better. He hadn’t realized until today that Mikoto’s sisters were still in danger. The boy placed his hands over her fists and said, “It does suck that the higher ups of the city keep using your sisters, but at least they’re safe now, right? You helped Index to cure Last Order and save all your sisters from the virus, and last time a lot of people helped out to save you and your sisters. And don’t forget, you can always call on me if you need some help, Misaka!”

The sudden contact and his comforting words caused Mikoto to blush and look down towards the table. Whenever that boy did things like this, she found it hard to speak normally. She managed to shyly reply, “Y-yeah, thanks!”

The boy asked, “Are you okay, Misaka? You’ve suddenly become very quiet.” Touma noticed that this sometimes happened at random times when she was around him, but he could never figure out why.

Mikoto shook her head a few times and paused a bit before answering, “Nothing’s wrong, I’m fine.” 

The boy looked at her skeptically, but decided not to press the issue and let go of her hands. As he did so, Mikoto wondered, “ _ Huh, why do I suddenly feel disappointed?”  _ Nevertheless, she switched back to their original topic, “It seems a bit weird that they had that plan to use my sisters to summon your friend. The Level 6 Shift experiment was canceled just one and a half months ago, so how did they so quickly come up with this plan to use my sisters, who they thought would be dead?” 

Touma considered her point, “Yeah, that is a bit weird. Maybe they came up with a backup plan in case the experiment failed? I’ve been involved in enough fights that the higher ups are probably aware of my ability, so maybe they knew there was a chance I could beat Accelerator?”

Mikoto raised her fingers to her chin, thinking out loud, “Backup plan? Maybe, but it seems a little too elaborate. Wait, what if this was actually their main plan all along? Maybe the entire thing was just a ruse, and they just needed a reason to create all those clones! First the Radio Noise project was supposed to create Level 5 clones for military use, but since they were only Level 2 or 3, they came up with the Level 6 Shift. If they expected you or even something else to stop the experiment, then as long as it wasn’t too late, enough of my sisters would still be alive afterwards, ready to be controlled.”

The boy replied, “Hmm, that idea actually isn’t that crazy. The higher ups must know that we interfered with the project, but neither one of us has been punished at all. And they sent your sisters all around the world, right? Maybe that’s also part of their plan. They might be able to summon Kazakiri anywhere in the world, or other things we haven’t even thought of!”

The girl summarized, “So basically, if this is all true, then the Misaka Network, which can be hacked via Last Order, was probably the real goal of those experiments, not a Level 6 Accelerator. Now that I think about it, making that psychopath a Level 6 would probably not be a good idea for them. Sure, they’d get bragging rights for creating the first Level 6, but they wouldn’t be able to control him.”

Touma sighed, “So on one hand, the higher ups didn’t want all twenty thousand clones to die. But on the other hand, they were fine with over ten thousand of them dying, and are probably planning to keep using them for whatever they want.” It seemed like the Misaka sisters were far from being out of the woods. 

Mikoto continued, “And like you said before, we can’t really fight directly against them. We can only change things a little at a time and try to stop them each time it happens. In any case, I’ll have to do my job as a big sister and protect them the best I can!” During the Daihasei Festival, Mikoto had been unable to protect her sisters, but she resolved to do her best to protect them in the future. 

The boy nodded, “Yeah, and of course I’ll help you with that if you ever need it.” He added to himself,  _ “After all, I promised to protect Misaka and her entire world, which includes her sisters.” _

Mikoto smiled at him, “Thanks!” Even though the task of protecting her sisters seemed almost as daunting as ever, that idiot had somehow come up with the right words to make her feel better. 

The pair had been talking for a while, and they had already finished eating. Mikoto was glad that they were able to compare notes about what had happened that day and piece together some of the bigger picture. But she also wanted to spend some more time with the boy, perhaps talking about more lighthearted topics. So she suggested, “Hey, how about we go walk around a bit?” 

Touma shrugged, “Sure, why not? I don’t have to be home for a while.” He reflected, “ _ It’s been going pretty well so far. When she’s not trying to shock me, Misaka is actually pretty good company. Hopefully I don’t do anything to make her mad again.” _

Mikoto grinned, ecstatic that he was willing to stay with her. She wasn’t exactly sure what they would do next, but as long as she was with that idiot, it didn’t matter that much to her.


	3. Cozy Relaxation

After some time walking around, Mikoto and Touma found a park nearby and decided to sit down in front of a tree. Soon after they did so, the boy saw an orange cat nearby. Making eye contact with it, he used his fingers to beckon the cast to come closer. The cat obliged, making its way towards the boy. It sniffed his hand for a bit before starting to lick it. Touma then began petting the cat, causing it to emit some happy meows.

Mikoto looked a bit forlornly at the scene. The electromagnetic waves she involuntarily emitted always scared animals away, so she wasn’t able to pet them without them running away. Nevertheless, she decided to give it a try, reaching out her own hand towards it. As usual, the cat backed away from her, and she withdrew her hand to avoid it running away entirely. The girl then looked down at her lap with a frown.

Touma watched her attempt fail before noting, “Oh yeah, your sister told me she had the same problem with cats. But her cat eventually got used to her, right?” He recalled how Misaka 10032 had vehemently insisted she couldn’t interact with her cat, but she was able to catch it when he threw it to her, and she had no problems interacting with it ever since. Maybe it had gotten used to her EM waves over time?

The girl sighed, “Yeah, but I put out more powerful EM waves, which scare them even more than hers. I’ve even tried petting her cat a few times, since it’s used to them, but it never worked. I would have to completely turn off my EM waves, but it’s not really something I can do.” As she was looking at Touma, she happened to glance at his right hand. Her eyes widened as she made a realization. 

Mikoto became excited and exclaimed, “Oh yeah, you can turn off my ability!” Indeed, whenever that boy’s right hand touched her, she completely lost the power to make even a tiny spark. When she had grabbed his right hand in one of their fights, she had been completely unable to shock him or do anything else with her ability. “If you touch me with your right hand, I won’t emit any EM waves and I’ll be able to pet the cat!” 

Touma was a bit startled by the girl’s sudden mood change. But it seemed she really wanted to pet the cat, and he didn’t like seeing her sad like she was just a moment ago. Wanting to make sure, he repeated, “You want me to touch you with my right hand?” 

The girl blushed furiously as she heard the boy repeat her request.  _ “Come on, calm down, he’s not going to see it as a big deal anyway. Just remember, this is something I have to do to finally pet a cat!”  _ She stuttered, “Y-yeah.”

_ “She became really quiet again.”  _ The boy raised his right hand and placed it on top of her head. Since she was sitting right next to him, this was actually the easiest place for him to reach. 

The sudden and unexpected contact led to Mikoto’s cheeks reddening even further, and she would definitely have started sparking if her ability wasn’t being negated. The girl stammered, “W-what are you doing? Why’d you put it there?” 

Touma suddenly realized what he’d done. “Oh, sorry, I wasn’t really thinking.” He started to remove his hand from her head, but he felt two hands grab it and pull it back down.

The girl was originally surprised, but when the boy was about to remove his hand, she wanted him to keep it there. It brought back memories of that fateful night on the bridge, when she was drowning in despair and he’d stroked her hair and comforted her. She smiled and softly replied, “No no, it’s fine, I don’t really mind.” 

The boy was somewhat confused about her behavior, but he decided not to question it. He rested his hand back in her hair and replied, “Okay, sure, Biri-Biri.” He also remembered that night on the bridge,  _ “Her hair is just as soft as before. At least she’s smiling and not crying this time.” _

Mikoto subconsciously scooted closer to him. For some reason, she didn’t feel irritated by that nickname this time. The girl held out her hands towards the orange cat. This time, it slowly walked towards them and allowed the girl to pick it up. Ecstatic that her idea had actually worked, she enthusiastically started petting it and nuzzling it against her face. “Aww, it’s so cute!” This was the first time in years that she was able to pet a cat.

_ “Wow, I didn’t know that Misaka could make those kinds of faces! She looks really happy!”  _ In fact, the only other times he’d seen her this happy were when she was obsessing over Gekota merchandise. As Mikoto continued playing with the cat, her head kept moving in various directions, and Touma had to make sure his hand was moving with it. As he did so, his fingers ruffled the girl’s hair. The boy was content to gaze at her smiling face and take in the heartwarming scene.  _ “Huh, I never knew this girl could have this cute side to her.” _

After Mikoto’s initial excitement mellowed out a bit, she placed the cat in her lap and continued petting it, keeping her head more stationary. She started becoming more aware of how Touma’s hand was moving on her head, causing her to start blushing again, though not as much as before.  _ “Why does that idiot’s hand feel so warm and comforting? And why am I getting this urge to just lean into him?”  _ To keep herself from losing control, the girl tried focusing back on the cat and diverting her attention from the boy’s hand.

Touma continued watching the girl pet that cat in her lap, focusing on her hand moving back and forth along its fur. As he did so, he began subconsciously mirroring that motion with his right hand, stroking Mikoto’s hair. 

Mikoto immediately noticed the change and became incredibly flustered. She turned towards the boy and sputtered, “W-what are you doing?” 

He looked up at his hand on her head and suddenly realized what he was doing. His face also reddened and he stopped petting her head, and he replied, “Oh, sorry Misaka, I was watching you pet that cat and I started moving my hand without realizing it. Please forgive me!”

Despite his fears, the girl wasn’t really mad at him, just a bit embarrassed. She gave him a nervous grin and asked, “So you saw me petting this cat and you just started petting me too?”

_ “Oh good, she doesn’t seem to be too mad.”  _ Touma nervously rubbed his head with his free hand and answered, “Yeah, I guess so. I’m really sorry!” 

Mikoto was actually somewhat disappointed that he stopped, and wondered if there was a way to get him to continue.  _ “Being more honest has worked out so far, so maybe I can just ask? But that would be really embarrassing.”  _ Deciding it was worth the risk, she shyly replied, “It’s okay, really. Actually, it felt pretty nice. A-and if you want to keep doing it, I don’t really mind.”  __

_ “Is she really saying what I think she’s saying?”  _ Wanting to confirm, Touma asked, “Wait, are you sure, Misaka?” Her words suggested that she wanted him to continue, but the boy didn’t want to upset her and endanger himself by misunderstanding her.

The girl smiled and nodded, “Y-yeah, and besides, it’s not like it’s the first time you’ve done that to me, right?”

_ “It looks like she wants me to keep going. And I guess I wasn’t the only one thinking about that night on the bridge.”  _ Touma smiled back at her and replied, “Okay, Biri-Biri, if that’s what you want.” He then started running his fingers through her hair. 

Mikoto’s blushing intensified even further, but not just because of him massaging her head. Usually, whenever the boy called her that nickname, it would be in a teasing or at best neutral tone. But this time, he called her Biri-Biri in such a tender tone.  _ “Why is that stupid nickname suddenly making my heart feel so cozy?”  _ In the end, she decided to simply enjoy being pampered by the boy, leaning into his hand and closing her eyes.

_ “She looks pretty cute when she’s smiling and not trying to electrocute me.”  _ As he continued observing the content girl, he thought about this new side of her he’d just discovered. Touma felt her head getting a bit warmer, but didn’t think much of it. He asked her, “Does this feel okay?” He was enjoying the feeling of her smooth hair between his fingers, but wanted to make sure she was comfortable with it.

Without opening her eyes, Mikoto nodded and replied, “Yeah, it feels great! You’re actually pretty good at this!” Even though he was currently turning her powers off, the girl still felt safe and protected. By this point, she’d stopped petting the orange cat and simply held onto it in her lap.

Since the cat was no longer being petted, it didn’t take long for it to jump off the girl’s lap. Mikoto opened her eyes and watched it as it walked away. Once it was out of sight, she turned to the boy with a tender smile and said, “That was the first time since I became an Electromaster that I was able to pet a cat. Thank you!”

Her earnest words caused Touma to blush a little. He replied, “You’re welcome, Misaka. I’m glad I could help you.” The boy gave her a few more pats on her head and then continued stroking her hair for a bit. Afterwards, he threaded his fingers down the hair on one side of her head and played with the ends for a few seconds before finally letting go. He had enjoyed playing with the girl’s hair, but his arm was getting tired, so he was a bit relieved to return it to a normal position.

Mikoto was disappointed when he let go of her hair, but she was glad she got to experience his comforting touch. She looked over at the boy in time to see him let out a yawn. Looking closer, she noticed his eyes looked a bit drowsy. She asked, “You feeling tired?” 

Touma nodded, “Yeah, a little bit. I didn’t really sleep well last night.” He added to himself,  _ “It’s hard to get a good night’s sleep in a bathtub.”  _ Spending time with Mikoto was actually much more relaxing than he thought it would be, but he still felt a bit tired. “Honestly, I sort of feel like lying down right now.”

_ “Darn, he’ll probably want to go home to rest. I wanted to stay with him a bit longer.”  _ She thought about it for a few seconds before coming up with an idea that caused her to blush.  _ “Well, I might as well give it a shot.”  _ Mikoto patted her own lap and nervously offered, “I-if you want, you can lie down here for a bit.” 

The boy had indeed been thinking about whether he wanted to go home. He didn’t really want to, since it would take some time to get back and he still needed to do some errands later that day. But Touma was pretty surprised when the girl offered him a lap pillow, and replied, “Wait, really?”

Mikoto answered, “Yeah, you helped me pet that cat, so now I can help you get some rest. And besides, this isn’t the first time I’ve done this for you.”

Touma remembered the lap pillow she’d given him on the bridge that night. Her legs had been pretty soft, and it had been a nice comfort after being electrocuted by her. He decided to accept her offer, “Okay, sure.” 

Since her legs were stretched out in front of her, the boy lay down on her lap from the side. Getting comfortable, Touma closed his eyes and soon felt Mikoto running her fingers through his hair, giving him tingles and causing his face to redden a bit. After silently enjoying her pampering, he said, “Wow Biri-Biri, so you do have a sweet and caring side after all!”

Mikoto was embarrassed by his comment and tried to retort, “D-don’t get used to this, all right? I’m only doing this to thank you for helping me with the cat!” Nevertheless, she was internally pleased,  _ “Well, I wanted to try being nicer to this idiot anyway. Seems like he actually noticed, so I guess it’s working.” _

The boy chuckled a bit, “Yes, of course.” Touma was used to her saying things like this to him, though he couldn’t quite figure out why.

Mikoto continued playing with the boy’s spiky hair, and said, “Hey, can I ask you something? Why do you still keep calling me Biri-Biri?” He had been using it a bit less often than just after they first met. But she noticed that the boy used that nickname a few more times than usual today, and she wanted to know why.

Touma opened his eyes and looked up at Mikoto, wondering why she was suddenly asking this. “Hmm, I don’t know, I guess it’s just a cute nickname. Why?” 

The girl paused for a moment before replying, “At first, it seemed like you were making fun of me whenever you called me that. But now you just call me that normally, and you’ve even done it multiple times today.”

The boy thought a bit about Mikoto’s point.  _ “Now that she mentions it, I’ve actually been calling her Biri-Biri a lot today, and she didn’t seem to mind.”  _ Touma then replied, “Well, I guess I started calling you that because you go biri-biri whenever you’re mad at me. But yeah, I’ve gotten used to using that nickname, even when you’re not trying to shock me.”

Mikoto sighed, “Yeah, I do lose my temper a lot around you. But you do have a talent of getting on my nerves sometimes.” 

Touma chuckled, “Yeah, honestly, I sometimes find it fun to bicker with you and push your buttons a little. It’s actually one of the more relaxing parts of my life.” With all the stress he dealt with trying to be a normal high schooler while constantly fighting to save people, shooting the breeze with Mikoto was relatively fun in comparison.

The girl found herself agreeing with him. She grinned and replied, “I can definitely believe that. You get involved in a lot of crazy situations.”

The boy added, “Yeah, hanging out with you is always interesting, even when we’re bickering.” He then then smiled up at her and continued, “But it’s also really nice when we get along, like right now.”

Mikoto blushed and thought about what he’d just revealed,  _ “He likes being around me, even if we’re arguing? I thought he hated having to put up with me.”  _ She replied, “Yeah, I like this too. My life is definitely not as stressful as yours, but it is great to just relax like this.”

After a pause, Mikoto revealed, “You know, now that I think about it more, you calling me Biri-Biri hasn’t bothered me that much lately. Before, I thought you were using it to mock me and my ability. But now I guess I can tell you’re not doing that.”

Touma frowned at that last part,  _ “She thought I was making fun of her ability? I guess I can see why.”  _ He replied, “I’m sorry, Misaka. I really didn’t mean to mock your ability. You know, I actually think your ability is one of the coolest ones I’ve seen.”

Mikoto was a bit surprised, “Wait, really?” She knew that the boy had witnessed and fought against a wide variety of esper abilities, including those of multiple Level 5’s. Did he really think her common, even if advanced, Electromaster ability was cooler than those?

The boy answered, “Are you kidding? You control one of the four fundamental forces of nature! You can shoot lightning, you can manipulate anything made of metal, you can make weapons out of iron sand, you can hack into anything electronic, and you can shoot railguns! And I’m sure there’s a lot more things you can do that I could never even think of. Your ability is one of the most highly adaptable that I’ve seen! Honestly, if I had to have someone else’s ability for a day, I’d definitely choose yours.”

The girl was extremely flattered by his praise. Although she had chosen her epithet based on her railgun, Mikoto had always prided herself of having a very flexible ability. Her railgun was one of her strongest moves, but she often found it more useful to use other aspects of her ability. Hearing the boy recognize this made her really happy. She smiled at him and replied, “It’s nice to hear you say that, even if it’s from someone who can cancel them all out. I didn’t know you studied my abilities so closely!” 

Touma chuckled, “Well, I’ve known you long enough to pick some things up. You know, we even learned a bit about you in school. About how you started out as a Level 1 and worked hard to become a Level 5.”

Mikoto was not too surprised, “Yeah, Academy City uses me as a poster girl to attract students, since I’m supposedly the sanest and friendliest Level 5. But it’s really hard sometimes to keep up with my image.”

The boy smirked, “Yeah, you’re supposed to be this really refined and mature young lady, but you’re actually hot-headed and a little childish.” He couldn’t help but tease her a bit, but quickly added, “But you’re also smart, persistent, and always willing to help someone who needs it.”

Mikoto’s fingers tensed in his hair at first, but relaxed as he hurriedly praised her again. She grinned, “Nice save! But you’re right, I’m not really the same as how I’m portrayed. Most of the girls at Tokiwadai treat me like this unapproachable celebrity, so I’m glad to have people I can be myself around.”

Touma raised his right arm and patted the girl’s hair, replying, “Well, I’m really glad that I’m one of the lucky people who gets to know the real Biri-Biri!”

The girl blushed heavily at his sweet words. As he continued stroking her hair, she smiled warmly at him, “You really like calling me that, huh? I guess it’s not that bad of a pet name, and you’re not making fun of me with it anymore.” She added to herself,  _ “And it’s definitely better than Short-Hair or Musclehead.” _

Touma then asked, “So does that mean I have your approval to use that nickname?” He was a bit surprised that Mikoto was kind of admitting to liking it.

Mikoto shrugged, “Sure, why not? But it’s not like that stopped you before.” She figured there was no point in continuing to deny it. In fact, thinking about it, it actually felt pretty nice that Touma had a unique pet name just for her. 

The boy lowered his hand back down and closed his eyes, wanting to rest them for a few minutes. Mikoto resumed playing with his hair, enjoying the peaceful silence.

Some time later, Touma opened his eyes and said, “Well, I need to get going now.” The boy sat up from her lap and pushed himself to a standing position. He then reached out his hand to Mikoto. The girl grabbed it and he helped her stand up as well. She enjoyed the warm feeling of holding his hand for a moment, but she released it quickly after standing up.

Although a bit disappointed that their time together was ending for now, Mikoto was glad that they had become closer. Wanting to see him again, she said, “Hey, so I was planning to visit some of my sisters at the hospital tomorrow morning. Do you want to come with me?” Every time she went to see her sisters, they would ask her about the boy and whether he would ever come visit them, so she figured she might as well ask.

Touma replied, “Sure, I’m free tomorrow, and it’ll be nice to see them again. I think I’ve only seen that one sister since the experiment ended.” 

Mikoto grinned, “Yeah, the other ones are a bit jealous that they haven’t gotten to see you yet. I’ll meet you at the hospital then?” 

The boy nodded, “Yeah, sounds good. See you then, Misaka.” 

As he was turning around to leave, Mikoto shouted, “Wait!” Touma paused, wondering why she stopped him. The girl was blushing, but she was sure of what she wanted to do. She walked up to the boy and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. Mikoto softly said, “Thank you for hanging out with me today.”

Touma was a bit confused by the unexpected hug, but he returned her embrace nonetheless.  _ “She must’ve been feeling a little lonely or something.”  _ He raised his hand and started stroking the back of her hair, “You’re welcome, Biri-Biri. I had a lot of fun today! And I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

Mikoto nodded into his shoulder and replied, “Yeah.” They hugged for a few more moments and then separated. 

  
They then said goodbye to each other, and Touma left to get started on his errands. Mikoto remained in the park, thinking back on all that happened the past few hours.  _ “Wow, that went even better than I dreamed! And I get to see him again tomorrow!”  _ Before, the girl had been depressed that the penalty game had gone so badly. But now, she was ecstatic at finally making progress in getting closer to that boy. 


	4. Reactions and Reflections

A few moments after Touma had left, Mikoto heard someone call out, “Hey, Misaka-san!” from behind her. She turned around and saw that it was her friend Saten. 

Mikoto was startled to see her friend immediately after saying goodbye to the boy, and she nervously replied, “H-hey Saten-san, what are you doing here?” The girl was internally panicking,  _ “Oh no, did she see me with him?” _

Saten gave her a teasing grin, “Oh, not much, I was just walking near this park and happened to notice you with a certain boy!” 

The other girl blushed heavily and replied, “H-how long were you here?” Mikoto had hoped she could meet up with him without any of her friends finding out, but it looked like that had been too optimistic.

Saten leaned closer to her and revealed, “Oh, not too long. But long enough to see you giving Kamijou-san a lap pillow! It was a really cute scene! I didn’t know you were going on a date today, Misaka-san!”

Mikoto blushed and hurriedly replied, “It wasn’t a date! He had just helped me with something and was feeling tired, so I just did that to thank him.”

Saten found it cute that Mikoto always tried to deny anything was going on between her and that boy. She grinned, “Sure, sure, and I guess that hug at the end was also to thank him?”

“You saw that too?” Mikoto buried her face in her hands,  _ “This is so embarrassing! Why did she have to be here and see us?” _

_ “Aww, she’s so cute when she’s flustered about that guy.”  _ Saten smiled as she watched her friend freak out for a few moments. She then took out her phone and revealed, “Oh, I even took a few pictures of you two!” 

Mikoto looked at her friend’s phone as she scrolled through her last few pictures. Saten had taken multiple photos of them when the boy was lying in her lap, including one where he was stroking her hair. She even had a photo of their goodbye hug. 

Mikoto stammered, “W-why did you take pictures of us?” 

Saten replied, “I don’t know, I just felt like it. But they’re pretty cute, don’t you think?” In fact, when she had seen the pair, she’d immediately taken out her phone, wanting to make sure she could document any cute moments between her friend and that boy.

Mikoto looked over the photos again and admitted, “Yeah, I guess they are pretty nice.” Although she was still very embarrassed that her friend had seen and documented those moments, a part of her was glad that there was something to remember them by. She asked, “Actually, Saten-san, could you send those photos to me?”

The other girl smirked, “Sure, though I didn’t expect you to ask.” Saten remembered that when she’d helped Mikoto make cookies for someone, she’d been in denial about her feelings for the recipient. So it was a bit surprising that she admitted to wanting the photos.

Mikoto sighed, “Well, there’s no point denying it, is there?” Saten was pretty good at seeing though her, especially when it came to her feelings for that boy. 

Getting back on her phone, Saten announced, “Okay, I’m sending you the pictures now!” 

Mikoto confirmed that she’d received them on her phone. She then said, “Thanks! Hey, Saten-san, could you keep this a secret from the others, especially Kuroko? She’ll freak out if she sees those pictures or finds out I hung out with that idiot.”

Saten grinned, “Sure, Misaka-san, I’ll keep it a secret, as long as you tell me all about your date with Kamijou-san!”

Mikoto groaned, “Again, it wasn’t a date! But fine, you win! I’ll tell you about it, but let’s sit down somewhere first.”

The two girls found a nearby bench to sit on so they could continue their conversation. Mikoto thought about what to reveal and what to leave out. She didn’t want to go into some of the more private details, but she figured she could give enough information to satisfy her curious friend.

Saten began, “So, Misaka-san, why don’t you tell me all about your day with Kamijou-san?”

Mikoto decided to start with something Saten was aware of already. She replied, “Do you remember when my mom told you and Uiharu that me and that idiot had a bet, and the loser would do whatever the winner says?”

Saten recalled, “Oh yeah, I remember that! You were betting on which of your schools would do better during the festival, right?”

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, and I won that bet, so I got to give him a penalty game. So I dragged him to the underground mall a few days ago to help me with some shopping. But it didn’t really go that well. He didn’t really want to be there, I got annoyed at that and lost my temper a few times, and Kuroko even interrupted us again by drop kicking him.” 

Saten remembered, “Ah, like at the Folk Dance? Yeah, he probably didn’t like that. And being under a penalty game doesn’t sound really fun, even if you didn’t make him do anything that bad.” She could tell that it was hard for her friend to admit this, so she tried not to be too harsh.

Mikoto sighed, “Yeah, I was really looking forward to it, and it ended up being a disaster. Afterwards, I realized that I was a bit childish and decided to apologize the next time I saw him. I ran into him the next day and apologized to him. He also apologized to me for complaining too much, and we agreed to hang out today.”

Saten replied, “I see. It looks like that worked out pretty well, right? He probably liked it more when he wasn’t being forced to do anything.” She grinned and continued, “And you two looked pretty cozy together from where I was standing!”

Mikoto blushed as she recalled those scenes. “Yeah, we got lunch together and then we sat down by that tree and just talked for a while. It was actually pretty nice, I usually don’t get the chance to talk to him for that long.” 

Saten grinned, “It looks like you did a lot more than talking, Misaka-san! I saw that you were playing with his hair while he was in your lap. Are you sure you’re not secretly dating or something?” She figured that if Mikoto and Touma were dating, the former would probably want to keep it a secret from Kuroko.

Mikoto frowned a bit, “No, that idiot isn’t my boyfriend.” 

The other girl simply replied, “But you want him to be, don’t you?” As soon as she said this, Saten noticed that her friend’s mood dropped a bit.

Mikoto looked down at her lap and answered, “Maybe, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t see me that way. I’ve lost my temper at him a lot, and I can tell he sometimes gets worried when he runs into me unexpectedly. You know, I showed up half an hour early for our penalty game because I was looking forward to it, and he thought it was because I really couldn’t wait to make him suffer. Why would he like a girl like that?” She added to herself,  _ “I’m probably just another one of the many girls he’s saved. I’m not special to him or anything.”  _

Saten consoled her, “Oh come on, you’re being too hard on yourself! You cleared up that misunderstanding, right? And today, he looked pretty happy to be with you!”

Mikoto conceded, “Yeah, that’s true. He did also say some really sweet things to me.” 

Saten nodded, “See? You made up, and had a great time together! I’m sure if you keep being nice to him, he’ll look forward to being with you too!”

Mikoto smiled at her friend, “Yeah, I hope so.” She reminded herself,  _ “I’ll see him tomorrow too, so hopefully I can keep making a good impression, though I’m not sure how it’ll go with my sisters involved.” _

Saten smiled back, glad that her friend was feeling a bit less insecure. She then stood up and said, “Well, this was fun, but I have to go now. See you later, Misaka-san!”

Mikoto waved, “All right, bye Saten-san!” Now alone, she stayed on the bench for some time, thinking about her friend’s advice and whether she could get that boy to like her more and see her in a different light. Soon, she also stood up and went off to continue with the rest of her day.

* * *

Later that night, Mikoto was back at home, lying on her bed. Kuroko was currently taking a shower, so she used the opportunity to look again at Saten’s photos of her and Touma.  _ “These really do look great! He looks like he’s actually enjoying himself, and the pictures aren’t fake this time.”  _ Although she still felt a little doubtful of how the boy really felt about her, Mikoto’s earlier talk with Saten was pretty helpful in easing some of her doubts.

Meanwhile, Kuroko had finished showering and teleported back into the bedroom. She saw that her roommate was looking at something on her phone and was too distracted to notice her.  _ “Onee-sama has that lovestruck look on her face again. Could she be texting that troglodyte?”  _ She immediately teleported near Mikoto, grabbed her phone, and teleported it and herself away.

Before Mikoto could react, her roommate was already looking at one of the photos. She shrieked, “Onee-sama, why are you hugging this troglodyte, and why is his dirty hand defiling your hair! Is this what you were doing all day, going on a date with him?” Kuroko continued scrolling through the pictures. Once she reached a particular one, she yelled, “You gave him a lap pillow? You’ve never done that for me, onee-sama!” Kuroko couldn’t believe that her roommate had lied to her in order to hang out with that boy.

Mikoto quickly grabbed her phone back before Kuroko could delete the photos.  _ “Oh shoot, I really didn’t want her to find out!”  _ She tried reassuring her roommate, “Calm down Kuroko, it’s not a big deal! It wasn’t a date, and I was just doing that to thank him for helping me with something.” She knew that nothing she said was likely to convince Kuroko, but she gave it her best shot.

Kuroko gasped, “I can’t believe what I’m hearing! Just because he helped you, you repaid him with your body? I can’t believe you let that troglodyte put his head on your wonderful legs!” As she said this, she knelt down and started hugging Mikoto’s legs and rubbing her face against her skirt. 

Mikoto pushed away Kuroko’s head with both of her hands and angrily replied, “Kuroko! Get off of me, you pervert!” She gave her roommate a relatively small electric shock, which allowed Mikoto to finally push Kuroko away from her, upon which she fell onto the ground.

Mikoto crossed her arms and glared at her roommate. For some reason, she felt angrier at Kuroko’s perverted antics than usual. She snapped, “Kuroko, let me get something straight with you. If I want to hang out with that idiot, I will, and I don’t need your permission to do so! I’m getting really tired of you always interrupting us! You’ve even drop kicked him twice for absolutely no good reason.”

Kuroko stood up and protested, “But onee-sama, I’m just trying to look out for you! That boy is nowhere near worthy enough to be in the presence of Tokiwadai’s Ace! You shouldn’t even be giving him the time of day, but for some inexplicable reason, you persist in trying to chase him. I just don’t know how that unmannered and worthless troglodyte has managed to turn you from a strong, powerful woman into a blushing, daydreaming girl.”

Mikoto grew more and more irritated during Kuroko’s diatribe, and the girl’s final sentence sent her over the edge. She gave Kuroko a powerful slap on the face, causing her to physically recoil. Kuroko placed her hand on her cheek and took a moment to realize what just happened. She looked back at a pissed off Mikoto and nervously said, “Onee-sama?” 

Mikoto was furious, “Don’t you dare call him worthless! When I was dealing with a problem that was entirely my fault and that I was completely powerless to fix, I fell into despair and was going to make a stupid mistake. When I hated myself and thought there was no other way, he saved me and found another way himself! And that was only the first of two times he’s saved me from my own stupid actions! And don’t forget he saved you too when you got into a losing fight on my behalf! You have no right to call him worthless or say he doesn’t deserve me. If anything, I’m the one that doesn’t deserve him!”

Kuroko dumbly replied, “He saved you?” She tried to think about when that could have happened,  _ “Was it that night when he showed up at our door and needed to talk to onee-sama? That was when she stopped disappearing every night and started smiling again.”  _ She wondered, “What kind of problem was he able to solve that the 3rd Ranked Level 5 could not?”

Mikoto turned away from her roommate and crossed her arms, “That’s something I can’t tell you. Maybe someday in the future, but not right now. Let’s just go to bed, Kuroko. I don’t really want to talk to you right now.”

Kuroko was utterly crushed by her roommate’s rejection. She had no idea that Mikoto would be so angry at what she said about that boy. She wanted to protest a bit more, but she could tell that her roommate was firm on not talking to her. She wondered,  _ “What happened to you, onee-sama?” _

Both roommates silently performed their nighttime routines and went to bed. Kuroko remained despondent about her onee-sama’s growing closeness with that boy. Meanwhile, Mikoto tried to forget about the fight with Kuroko and think about her day with him, as well as looking forward to seeing him and her sisters the next day.

* * *

Meanwhile, Touma was also back home, lying in his bathtub bed after putting Index to bed. The nun had asked what he’d done that day, and the boy made the mistake of mentioning that he’d hung out with Mikoto. This had resulted in Index giving him a series of bites more numerous and painful than usual.

Now that he was alone, he finally had some time to think about the time he spent with Mikoto. That morning before he met up with her, Touma had been unsure of what to expect, but it ended up being much more fun than he anticipated. Even their conversation during lunch, which was more serious, had given him crucial information about what was going on in Academy City.

The boy reviewed the information they’d pieced together,  _ “It really sucks that Misaka’s sisters are still being used by Academy City. A lot of people will probably keep going after Last Order, but it seems like she has someone who can protect her. Maybe when Misaka and I visit her sisters tomorrow, we can get some more information.”  _

He then thought about his past encounters with Mikoto,  _ “I’ve been a bit of a jerk to her, haven’t I? Sometimes brushing her off when she tries to talk to me or always assuming she wants to hurt me. I couldn’t believe that she just wanted to spend some time with me. No wonder she got mad at me when I said she was excited to make me suffer. But today, it was pretty fun hanging out with her! She was really nice to me and she looked pretty happy!”  _ The boy hoped that he’d successfully made it up to her.

Touma smiled as he recalled her interactions with the cat,  _ “Biri-Biri was pretty adorable with that cat! I’m glad I could make her smile, she looked pretty sad when she thought she wouldn’t be able to pet it. And I can’t believe she actually let me pet her too. I thought for sure she’d be mad at me, but she seemed to actually like it. Her hair was pretty soft, too. I wouldn’t have minded playing with it for a bit longer. That smile she gave me at the end when thanking me was really cute!”  _

The boy blushed as he remembered what happened next,  _ “Oh yeah, Biri-Biri also gave me a lap pillow again. It was really sweet of her to take care of me like that, and she was really gentle when stroking my hair. I always thought of her as a little troublesome, but maybe if I keep spending time with her, she’ll keep showing her kind and considerate side. With all the crazy fights I get into almost every day, relaxing with Misaka sounds pretty nice.”  _ He hoped that if he and Mikoto continued getting along well, they could start hanging out more often as friends, instead of just occasionally running into each other as acquaintances.

Touma’s thoughts then turned back to their farewell,  _ “I definitely didn’t expect her to hug me in the end. I guess she really was looking forward to spending time with me.”  _ He closed his eyes and crossed his arms around himself as he imagined hugging her,  _ “She’s a pretty good hugger too! I sort of wish we could’ve stayed like that for longer. Maybe I’ll get to hug her again tomorrow.”  _ The boy paused for a moment, wondering where that thought had come from.  _ “Oh well, whatever, she’s probably not going to do that again anyway.” _

He then chuckled,  _ “Well, tomorrow should be pretty interesting. I’ll get to meet some of Misaka’s sisters for the first time. It should be fun! Though I’ll have to make sure not to mention it to Index.”  _ Looking forward to the next day, Touma soon began to fall asleep.


	5. Sisterly Reunion

The next morning, Mikoto headed to the hospital where her sisters were staying. Kuroko had tried to talk to her and ask where she was going, but Mikoto had brushed her off, still annoyed with her and not wanting to explain herself. She and Touma had agreed to meet at the hospital, so she expected to see him once she arrived.

Meanwhile, Touma was sitting down on a bench in the lobby inside the hospital, which also happened to be his usual hospital. After a few minutes of waiting, he saw Mikoto enter through the doors. As she approached him, he waved at her with a smile, “Hey, Biri-Biri!”

Mikoto’s heart skipped a beat, still not fully used to the boy using that nickname endearingly. She grinned back at him, “Hey, you idiot!” He stood up and they started heading further inside the hospital. The girl explained, “So, there are four of my sisters who are living here at this hospital, including 10032-chan, the one you already know.”

The boy nodded, “So there are three new sisters I haven’t met yet, right?” It would be nice to see Misaka 10032 again, but he was also looking forward to meeting the other three and seeing if they behaved similarly. If his experience with Misaka 10032 was anything to go by, Touma expected them all to have unusual but still interesting personalities.

The girl continued, “Yeah, that’s right. Their serial numbers are 10039, 13577, and 19090. They don’t go out too often, and if they do, it’s usually just one at a time, so I have to visit them here if I want to see them all at once.” So far, Mikoto had visited them a number of times since the end of the experiment. Although at first she’d found it really awkward to interact with her sisters, she was gradually starting to form actual sibling relationships with them.

They soon reached the room where Mikoto’s sisters were staying. She entered the room and announced, “Hey guys, it’s me!” Touma followed in behind her and immediately noticed the four sisters, all of whom were wearing their iconic goggles. 

“Hello again, Big Sister, greets Misaka 10032. Misaka did not expect you to bring the boy with you, but she is pleased with this development, adds Misaka 10032.” Mikoto had told them she was visiting, but she hadn’t mentioned bringing Touma, since she’d only invited him the previous day.

Touma noticed that Misaka 10032 was still wearing the heart-shaped necklace.  _ “Okay, that’s good, I can tell her apart from the others. And it looks like she got her goggles back from Last Order.”  _ He explained, “Yeah, she told me she was visiting you guys today and invited me to join.” 

The other three sisters approached them, with one sister trailing behind the other two. They began introducing themselves to Touma, one at a time. 

“Misaka’s serial number is 10039, says Misaka 10039, introducing herself. Misaka is pleased to see you once again.” This sister had actually met Touma when he discovered the death of Misaka 10031, since she was part of the cleanup crew for that body. However, this was her first time seeing the boy after that.

“Hello, Misaka’s serial number is 13577, says Misaka 13577, also introducing herself. Unfortunately, Misaka has not met you before, but she is glad to finally meet you.”

Touma replied, “It’s nice to meet you too!” So far, it seemed that they were pretty similar to Misaka 10032. He noticed the last sister remained quiet and looked a bit nervous. He smiled at her and asked, “And what about you?”

“Mi-Misaka’s serial number is 19090, says Misaka 19090. Misaka is happy to meet the boy who saved her life, adds Misaka 19090, with slightly flushed cheeks.”

The boy saw that she was a bit shyer than her sisters. He said, “Don’t mention it, and I’m glad to meet you too! It seems you’re a bit different from the other sisters?” 

“T-that is correct. A rogue scientist on the project uploaded emotions into Misaka, but the upload was blocked by the control tower before it could spread to the other Misakas, explains Misaka 19090. Therefore, this Misaka was the only one affected, concludes Misaka 19090.”

Mikoto added, “Yeah, I’ve met that scientist. She actually tried a few ways to sabotage the experiment, but none of them really worked. I hope she’s doing okay now.” She recalled how Nunotoba had tried spreading money cards in alleys to prevent them from being used in the experiments, and how she had seen her sisters as humans who deserved to live. The girl wasn’t sure what happened to her after the experiment ended, though.

Touma nodded, “I see, well it’s good to know that there was one scientist on that project with a heart.” Although it seemed like the scientists used Last Order to limit the upload to Misaka 19090, it was nice that one of the sisters still received more human emotions.

The boy looked around at the four Misaka sisters and wondered, “Hey, so what should I call you guys?” He pointed at Misaka 10032 and continued, “I’ve usually just referred to her as Misaka’s sister, but that would be pretty confusing since there are four of you.”

“You can call us by our serial numbers, replies Misaka 10039. That’s what Big Sister does when she visits, adds Misaka 10039 as further justification.”

Touma nodded, “Okay then, is 10039-chan okay?” He found it a bit weird to call them by their numbers, but if that was what they wanted, he wouldn’t object. Each sister always referred to herself as Misaka, and they didn’t have given names, so this was probably the only option anyway. 

_ “Huh? Why is he using that honorific? Is it because he heard me use -chan for one of them earlier?”  _ Mikoto wanted to ask him about this, but she was interrupted by her sister.

“That is acceptable, answers Misaka 10039, with blood rushing to her cheeks.”

“Uhh, okay.” Touma was a bit confused by her description, but he turned to the other sisters and continued, “So are 10032-chan, 13577-chan, and 19090-chan fine with the rest of you?” Misaka 10039 had indicated that all of them would prefer being called by their numbers, but he wanted to make sure.

“Misaka is fine with that, answers Misaka 13577, her heart slightly aflutter.”

“Mi-Misaka is happy to have the boy call her by serial number, agrees Misaka 19090, giving the boy a shy smile.”

“Misaka has no objections to the boy’s use of that honorific, though she is a little jealous that the other Misakas are catching up to her lead, concludes Misaka 10032.”

_ “Her lead? What is she talking about?”  _ Touma wasn’t quite sure what to make of that remark. “ _ Is she jealous that she’s not the only sister I know now?” _

Now that all of her sisters had taken their turns agreeing, Mikoto protested, “Hold on, shouldn’t you guys be objecting a bit more about the honorific? Sure, I use -chan with you guys, but you’re my younger sisters.” She was a bit jealous that Touma was casually using such a familiar honorific for her sisters.

“That honorific is not inappropriate, since we are all younger than the boy, rebuts Misaka 13577. 10032 has even spent enough time with him to be familiar acquaintances, adds Misaka 13577, suspiciously wondering why Big Sister is so concerned with this.”

Mikoto was surprised to be called out and nervously replied, “I’m just trying to look out for you, that’s all.” She could tell that they didn’t really believe her, though.  _ “Come to think of it, why  _ do  _ I care so much? Just because he calls them -chan doesn’t means he likes them or anything.”  _

Touma turned to Mikoto and said, “Well, if your sisters are okay with it, it should be fine, right Mikoto?” 

The girl was a bit startled, “Wait, why are you suddenly using my given name?” She paused for a moment and then realized, “Oh right, it’s because everyone else here is a Misaka.” 

The boy nervously rubbed his head, “Oh yeah, sorry Biri-Biri. Don’t worry, it’s just for when we’re here.” Touma figured that she wouldn’t want him to use her given name regularly, so he wanted to clarify himself before she got upset.

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, okay, that makes sense.” She didn’t really mind it that much, and she knew it was a good way of avoiding confusion with her sisters. 

“Oh, Misaka understands now, Biri-Biri is your name for Big Sister, not for the black cat, interjects Misaka 10032.”

Touma nodded, “Yeah, that’s right.” Once, when he had seen Misaka 10032 without her goggles on, he’d called her Biri-Biri, and she had thought he was referring to the stray cat she had been with. The boy then asked, “Oh, speaking of your cat, did you finally figure out a name for it?” 

“Misaka has decided to name him On Hold, reveals Misaka 10032 with a smug smirk on her face.”

The boy sighed, “I knew it, I knew you’d end up naming him On Hold. I can’t even decide if that’s a better or worse name than Dog.” A part of him wanted to try to convince her to pick a more sensible name, but Touma decided it wasn’t worth the effort.  _ “Well, it’s nice that she has her own sense of humor, even if it’s weird.” _

Mikoto turned to her sister and asked, “You wanted to name the cat Dog? Knowing you, I’m actually not that surprised.” It sounded exactly like her sister’s type of ironic humor.

Touma explained, “Yeah, that was the first name she came up with. After I told her it wasn’t a good name, she came up with a bunch of other bad names. Eventually we decided to put it on hold, but I feared she would just name it On Hold, which she apparently ended up doing.”

“So Misaka 10032 and the boy decided on the name of the black cat together, summarizes Misaka 10039, with a hint of jealousy.”

“Yes, it seems that Misaka 10032 and the boy share quite a close bond, adds Misaka 13577, also feeling envious.”

“That is correct. After all, the boy gave Misaka this heart-shaped necklace as a present, declares Misaka 10032 with a smug grin after suddenly hugging the boy’s arm.”

Touma blushed, “Woah, 10032-chan, what are you doing? Why are you grabbing onto my arm?” He never really figured out why she’d grabbed his arm that time in the underground mall, and he was startled that she was doing it again.

“Misaka is simply demonstrating the close bond she shares with you, answers Misaka 10032, flaunting her superiority over the other Misakas.”

Mikoto was also surprised, but after a brief pause, she wondered,  _ “Wait, is she including me as one of the other Misakas?”  _ She considered whether to intervene, but it seemed this time Touma wasn’t just standing there with a dazed look doing nothing, so Mikoto didn’t feel the need.  _ “Man, I really don’t like seeing her draping herself all over him. Do I need to do something like that to get him to see me as an option?” _

“10032, your boast is misleading. Every Misaka knows that the boy only bought you that accessory to distinguish you from Big Sister, argues Misaka 13577.”

“Yes, and you’re not the only one who can do that, adds Misaka 10039 as she hugs the boy’s other arm as well.”

Once again in the situation of two Misakas holding onto both of his arms, Touma could only sigh, “Just my luck!” The boy could feel their chests pressed against his arms and their heads leaning on his shoulders.  _ “It actually feels pretty nice, but Biri-Biri might get mad if this goes on.”  _ He looked at Mikoto and could see that she was speechless for the moment, but he expected that to change pretty soon.

“It seems that both of the boy’s arms are occupied, observes Misaka 13577, a bit disappointed. Therefore, Misaka will have to try a different approach. How about this, asks Misaka 13577 as she embraces the boy from behind.”

Mikoto was flabbergasted at the sight of her three sisters shamelessly and simultaneously hugging Touma.  _ “Do they  _ all  _ like that idiot? And how can they just do that with no hesitation?”  _ She tried her hardest to tamp down her irritation, but she started emitting small sparks from her head. “Hey, what are you guys doing? Get off of him!”

“What’s the matter, Big Sister? Are you jealous, asks Misaka 10032, wondering if you’re still not being honest with yourself?”

Mikoto blushed at her sister’s question and stammered, “I-it’s not about me being jealous, I just think you might be making him a little uncomfortable.” She knew from Kuroko how it felt to be suddenly grabbed without warning, so she almost felt a little bad for the boy.  _ “Ah, who am I kidding, that idiot is probably enjoying it.” _

Touma said, “It’s okay, Mikoto. I don’t really mind, though I would’ve preferred to have some warning.” He felt all of them nuzzling into him, with Misaka 13577 resting her head on his shoulder and the other two leaning into his chest. After a few moments, he nervously added, “Um, it’s been a while now, could you guys maybe let go of me?”

“Alright, replies Misaka 13577, disappointed it couldn’t last a bit longer. Misaka apologizes for not giving you enough warning before hugging you.”

“Misaka is sorry if she made you uncomfortable, but she really enjoyed the experience and hopes you did too, says Misaka 10039 after letting go of the boy’s arm.”

“Misaka also regrets any discomfort she caused you, adds Misaka 10032, a bit worried about losing her frontrunner status.”

The boy smiled at all of them, “Don’t worry guys, it’s okay.” He didn’t want them to feel bad, especially since the experience wasn’t actually that unpleasant. Touma then turned his attention to the fourth sister, who was nervously looking at him.

“C-can Misaka hug you as well, shyly requests Misaka 19090, holding out her arms slightly.”

_ “Oh yeah, she didn’t join her sisters just now.”  _ Touma answered, “Sure, 19090-chan!” He wrapped his arms around her and felt her embrace him in return.  _ “She’s a bit shyer than Biri-Biri, but still a good hugger.”  _ After a few seconds, they separated.

“Mi-Misaka is very happy you agreed, reveals Misaka 19090, her heart beating really fast.”

The boy replied, “Of course!” He liked that this sister had asked him first instead of just suddenly hugging him, and he found her shyness a bit adorable.

Mikoto had been watching all of this with a frown on her face.  _ “Great, my sisters just met that idiot, and they’ve already fallen for him and are all over him. I can’t believe he just let them glomp onto him. He was definitely enjoying it.” _

Touma noticed that Mikoto hadn’t said much in a while. He walked up to her and asked, “Hey Biri-Biri, you’ve been pretty quiet. Are you okay?”

The girl smiled, “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m glad you guys are getting along.” This was at least partially true. Although Mikoto was a little envious of her sisters’ affectionate behavior with Touma, she knew that her sisters didn’t have a lot of other people to talk to, so she was glad she was able to make her sisters happy by bringing him along.

The boy agreed, “Yeah, I’m glad too. I thought it would be a bit confusing meeting with four sisters at once, but they always say which sister they are when they speak.” He turned back to face them and added, “It’s still pretty hard to tell you guys apart by sight, though. I can only do it for 10032-chan and maybe 19090-chan.”

“Misaka has a suggestion for that, reports Misaka 10039. You could buy accessories for the other three Misakas too, says Misaka 10039, secretly hoping to topple 10032’s monopoly.”

“Misaka supports 10039’s request, adds Misaka 13577. She would also like a necklace from the boy.”

“Mi-Misaka would like one too, pleads Misaka 19090, though she is pleased that the boy can tell her apart from the others even without one.”

Touma chuckled, “Sure, that’s actually a pretty good idea. That way, whenever I see one of you, I’ll know which one you are.” Even though each sister mentioned her serial number each time she spoke, the boy would at least be able to avoid having to awkwardly ask for it each time. He continued, “So what kinds of necklace do you guys want?”

“Misaka would like to point out that giving any other Misaka a heart-shaped necklace would defeat the purpose of telling us apart, argues Misaka 10032. Therefore, Misaka strongly suggests that you each pick a necklace of a different type, concludes Misaka 10032, in an attempt to preserve her uniqueness.”

“In that case, Misaka would like a star-shaped necklace, replied Misaka 10039, annoyed that her first choice isn’t available anymore.”

“Misaka would be pleased to receive a flower-shaped necklace from the boy, says Misaka 13577, making her choice.”

“Mi-Misaka would love to get a snowflake necklace, answers Misaka 19090, secretly excited to receive her first present from you.”

_ “Well, they’re definitely bold, I’ll give them that. And of course that idiot is going along without thinking about it at all.”  _ Mikoto felt like her sisters were gaining ground, but she was confident that she could also continue making progress with the boy. She said, “You know, I actually agree, having individual accessories will be good for you guys. I know you have to wear the Tokiwadai uniform to not cause me any trouble if people see you, so at least you’ll have something personalized to wear for yourself.”

“You make a good point, Big Sister, notes Misaka 10032. It is sometimes troublesome for Misaka to conform her behavior to match Big Sister’s reputation when she goes out, adds Misaka 10032 to elaborate.”

Mikoto internally sighed,  _ “There she goes again.”  _ Misaka 10032 often made remarks like that to her, but she knew it was just sisterly teasing. She smiled at her sister and placed her hand on her sister’s head, behind her goggles. Mikoto then started ruffling her hair and said, “I know, and I’m really grateful for it. I’m so lucky to have you guys as little sisters.” As she said this, she also looked at her other three sisters.

“Misaka is also lucky to have such a caring older sister, says Misaka 10032, embarrassed but also touched by your kind words.”

Touma smiled at the heartwarming scene,  _ “Biri-Biri is pretty good at being an older sister. It’s great that they’ve been able to form such a close bond after just a couple of months.” _

Mikoto withdrew her hand from her sister’s head, but continued smiling at her and the other sisters. She was extremely glad she’d decided to bring Touma along to visit her sisters, and she hoped that this would let her get closer to him as well.


	6. The Best Big Sister

Mikoto and Touma were now sitting next to each other on a couch, while the four sisters were seated in chairs surrounding them. Now that they’d gotten through their introductions, Mikoto wanted to start getting more information on what had happened that other night. She asked her sisters, “So what happened to you guys on September 30? We met Last Order earlier that day, and apparently she was kidnapped and injected with a virus that took control of all of you?”

“Yes, that is correct, answers Misaka 10032. Misaka didn’t know that you were involved in that incident, so she is a bit surprised that you know about what happened to the control tower.”

Mikoto elaborated, “Oh, I was only involved a little. I helped the girl who cured her virus by explaining how an electrical network based on brain waves works. I didn’t even realize that it was the Misaka Network until I later learned about Last Order from him.” She gestured towards Touma during the last part of her explanation.

The boy nodded, “Yeah, apparently Last Order’s guardian lost her while fighting against her kidnappers. I found her later and tried to reunite her with him, but I got attacked by someone and told her to run away. I guess the kidnappers got to her after that.” Touma had been a bit frustrated with himself that he hadn’t been able to protect her. Thankfully, it seemed to have turned out all right in the end. He asked, “So, do you guys remember what happened when the virus forced Last Order to send commands to you, or were you knocked unconscious?”

“We weren’t knocked unconscious, but we were barely able to move, replies Misaka 13577. We were forced to manipulate our AIM Diffusion Fields and concentrate them on a certain point within Academy City, elaborates Misaka 13577.”

Touma replied, “Yeah, from what we could figure out, they were using you guys to summon Kazakiri Hyouka, a friend of mine who’s made up of AIM fields. And she was being used to defend Academy City from the invasion that happened.” 

“Ah yes, we’ve heard about that invasion, and how it was causing lots of people to fall unconscious, reports Misaka 10039.”

“Mi-Misaka thinks that if we were programmed to help protect the city, then it wasn’t such a bad thing, says Misaka 19090, giving her opinion. But she would prefer to have been asked first, adds Misaka 19090 to clarify.”

Mikoto knew that her sister was trying to look at the bright side, but reminded her, “You might have been used for a good reason this time, but if they can infect Last Order with a virus whenever they want, they’ll definitely use you to do worse things.”

“You make a good point, Big Sister, concedes Misaka 13577. However, Last Order is currently in the care of a very powerful person, so she won’t be captured so easily in the future, argues Misaka 13577, glossing over the fact that the control tower has already been successfully kidnapped before.”

Mikoto wondered,  _ “How powerful could he be if he couldn’t protect her that time? Though that idiot is the strongest person I know, and even he wasn’t able to save her, so maybe I’m being too harsh. I guess Last Order’s guardian might have been distracted by something else too.”  _ She asked, “Just who is her guardian anyway?”

“Her guardian is Accelerator, answers Misaka 10039 a bit nervously, hoping that Big Sister doesn’t overreact.” 

Mikoto froze, and her eyes widened in fear. “Ac-Accelerator?” She couldn’t believe what she just heard. Her mind flashed with images of Misaka 9982 and Misaka 10031 being brutally murdered. How could this be possible? Why was that little girl in the care of that monster that had murdered over ten thousand of her sisters, and why were her sisters seemingly okay with it?

Touma was also surprised by the revelation.  _ “Has he really changed? Did he finally realize that they were actually humans who deserved to live?”  _ Before he could contemplate any further, he looked to his right and noticed that Mikoto was starting to hyperventilate, with sparks emitting from her head. Worried that she might begin having a panic attack, the boy grabbed her hand with his right hand, both to comfort her and to turn off the sparks. He gently said to her, “Hey Mikoto, it’s okay, he’s not here.” He squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her.

Hearing the boy’s soft words and feeling his comforting grip on her hand pulled Mikoto out of her traumatizing flashbacks. She squeezed back on his hand and shyly said, “Thanks.” She took a few breaths to calm herself down and then asked her sisters, “Okay, how on earth did that even happen in the first place?”

“About a week after the end of the experiment, Last Order was released from the lab, begins Misaka 13577. She made contact with Accelerator, but then she was kidnapped by Amai Ao, a former researcher on the project. He implanted a virus in the control tower which would have caused us to go on a rampage. Accelerator used his ability to remove the virus from her brain, but he was shot in the head while using all of his calculation power on her, summarizes Misaka 13577.”

Mikoto still had a hard time coming to terms with the information. “So he saved her, huh? I guess he changed after all?” She was still pretty doubtful, but she didn’t think her sisters would lie to her on his behalf.

Touma interjected, “Maybe he finally realized that you guys are real people, and not just wind-up dolls?” During his fight with Accelerator, Touma could tell that he didn’t really regard the clones as actual human beings, which was why he seemingly had no qualms about killing them. If his point of view had truly changed, then it would make sense that he could choose to save them instead.

“You are correct, replies Misaka 10032. The very first Misaka, Misaka 1, was killed by a reflected bullet, rather than by any direct action by Accelerator. He was then told by the researchers that he shouldn’t feel conflicted, since he hadn’t killed an actual human, says Misaka 10032, explaining some more backstory.”

The boy deduced, “Then after Misaka 1 died, the only way for him not to see himself as a murderer was to believe that she wasn’t a real human human.”

“Yes, Last Order realized that Accelerator did not really want to kill us. Rather, he had wanted us to say that we didn’t want to die, but we didn’t do that because we had not yet realized the values of our own lives, explains Misaka 10039.”

Mikoto paused to consider that explanation.  _ “I could sort of believe that. After all, I once got frustrated at them for letting themselves be killed in the experiment and wondered whether it was worth saving them if they were so willing to die.”  _ However, she firmly replied, “He should’ve still known it was wrong even without that! It shouldn’t have taken this idiot’s words and fists to knock some sense into him!”

_ “She does have a point there.”  _ Touma replied, “Yeah, he definitely should have figured that out before killing over ten thousand sisters, but at least he finally realized it. That’s a positive step, right?” 

Mikoto sighed, “I suppose so. After all, it’s not like there was ever a chance of him being punished for his crimes.” She then recalled a detail her sister had mentioned, “Wait, 13577-chan, did you say that Accelerator got shot in the head while removing the virus?” Now that she thought about it, that was something she hadn’t thought was possible, due to his ever-present reflection.  _ “But altering someone’s brain so precisely does take a lot of calculations, so I guess he couldn’t keep up his reflection.”  _

“Yes, he did, affirms Misaka 13577. Although he saved Last Order as a result, he had extensive damage to his frontal lobe and was nearly reduced to a vegetative state, adds Misaka 13577, revealing critical new information.”

“13577 is correct, adds Misaka 10039 upon seeing your shocked expressions. He was unable to function as a regular human, let alone use his esper powers, continues Misaka 10039, trying to preemptively answer your questions.”

Mikoto was indeed shocked by the information, but she knew that damage to the frontal lobe would indeed lead to those consequences. She replied, “Wait, but he’s okay now, right? You used the past tense, and he’s Last Order’s guardian now, so he can’t just be stuck as a vegetable.”

Touma added, “Yeah, I actually spoke to him on the phone when I was with Last Order and he seemed fine.”

“The frog-faced doctor developed an electrode that connects Accelerator to the Misaka Network, explains Misaka 10032. Using our combined calculation powers, he can now function normally and use his esper powers for about 30 minutes before recharging, further explains Misaka 10032, while smirking at the irony of the situation.”

_ “This entire situation is unbelievable.”  _ Mikoto placed her free hand on her head as she took in this information. “So let's see if I have this all correct. Accelerator killed over ten thousand of my sisters, but was stopped by this idiot here. Then, Last Order made contact with him, thinking he’s not actually that bad a person. Last Order got kidnapped and had a virus injected into her. Accelerator saved her by using his ability on her brain, but he got shot in the head, so now he’s completely reliant on the Misaka Network for basic functioning and his esper ability. And I’m just learning about this now, over a month later?”

“You’ve brilliantly summarized the events involving Accelerator and the Misakas, praises Misaka 19090, glad that her Big Sister is remaining calm.” 

_ “10032-chan was right. This entire situation is definitely ironic.”  _ After killing 10,031 of her sisters, Accelerator was now completely dependent on the remaining 9,070 sisters. Last Order could probably cripple him by simply cutting off access to the Misaka Network.

Mikoto let out a sigh and softly said, “So in the end, the monster who murdered my sisters is better at saving them than me. Some Big Sister I am.” The girl thought she had mostly gotten over her feelings of self-doubt regarding her sisters soon after the end of the experiment, but they were now starting to return.

Her sisters were a bit too far away to hear her, but Touma wasn’t. He asked, “Huh, what do you mean, Mikoto?” He wasn’t completely sure what she was thinking, but he hated seeing her blame herself.

The girl elaborated, “Isn’t it obvious? I completely failed in saving my sisters. The first one I met was number 9982, and I watched her get killed that same night. I spent a week wasting my time destroying research facilities, and meanwhile 49 more of my sisters were murdered. I eventually had to rely on you to save them, while I was completely useless.”

Touma had a hard time figuring out what to say, so instead he tried squeezing her hand again, “Biri-Biri?” She had previously told him about her struggles to stop the experiment before he had first met Misaka 10031, but the boy hadn’t realized that she still felt guilty about that. 

Mikoto barely registered his reaction, instead continuing, “But it wasn’t just that time! When they were infected during the Daihasei Festival, my efforts to save them just ended up with me getting controlled, and Shokuhou was the one that beat that old man and got the antidote. And the most recent time, it was that nun that saved all of them, while I couldn’t even recognize that she was describing the Misaka Network.”

_ “Shokuhou? Who’s that?”  _ The boy was confused by that mentioned name, but he could tell that Mikoto had been struggling with this for a while. Trying to console her, Touma brought his left hand up to her head and started stroking her hair. He said in a soft tone,“Hey, you’re being too hard on yourself, Mikoto.”

The girl blushed in response to his actions, especially since her sisters were also watching them. However, while it did feel nice to hear those words, she couldn’t bring herself to believe them. “What do you mean? Everything I said is true!”

Touma shook his head, “Not really. You know, the only reason I found out about your sisters and the experiment was because you went through all that trouble of hacking and breaking into labs to collect all that information. If you hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything in the first place. Plus, it was you who figured out how to get rid of Accelerator’s plasma bomb. You, me, and all your sisters worked together to defeat him, so you should give yourself more credit!” As he concluded his argument, the boy gave her a smile, hoping that she would cheer up.

Mikoto smiled back at him, but then lowered her face. “I guess you’re right, though I still think you were the main one who saved them. I probably couldn’t have done much more against Accelerator. It’s just too bad that I wasn’t strong enough to properly fulfill my role as Big Sister.” She gently pried her hand out of his grasp and crossed her hands together, looking down at her lap.

The boy frowned, seeing that she was still feeling bad about being unable to save her sisters by herself. He silently continued stroking her head for a bit longer, unsure of what to say to convince her that she wasn’t a bad older sister. Touma removed his hand from her head, worried that he hadn’t been able to cheer her up.

Mikoto then looked up and saw that one of her sisters had gotten up and was walking towards her. She then sat down on the couch next to her, on the opposite side from Touma. 

“Mi-Misaka wants to tell you that you’re a great Big Sister, says Misaka 19090, attempting to comfort you with a hug and rubbing your back. You’re the reason that Misaka was born in the first place, and you’ve helped her figure out how to lead a normal life. Misaka wishes that you wouldn’t be so sad.”

Mikoto was a bit surprised by her sister’s sudden hug, but she returned the embrace, wrapping her arms around her sister’s back. She hesitantly said, “19090-chan?” The girl then noticed that her other three sisters had stood up and approached her as well. 

“19090 is correct, you’re an amazing older sister, concurs Misaka 13577, trying to cheer Big Sister up from her depressed state. Misaka is in awe of how far you’ve been willing to go for her sake, despite not knowing her for long, adds Misaka 13577.”

“You were able to see value in Misaka’s life even when she didn’t, recalls Misaka 10039. Misaka is grateful to have such a kind older sister looking out for her, concludes Misaka 10039, hoping Big Sister understands her feelings.”

“When the boy was temporarily down for the count, you protected Misaka and were willing to sacrifice your life for her, even though you were terrified, argues Misaka 10032. You may be a troublesome Big Sister who’s bad tempered and likes childish things, but you’re not a bad older sister, says Misaka 10032, giving a slightly tsundere response.”

Mikoto began to tear up a little at her sisters’ praises. She separated from Misaka 19090, stood up and pulled her three other sisters into a group hug. Looking at all of her sisters, including the one still on the couch, the girl said, “Thanks! You guys are the best little sisters a girl could ask for!” Not wanting her to be excluded, Mikoto added, “Come on, 19090-chan, join us!” 

“A-all right, says Misaka 19090 as she joins the other Misakas surrounding Big Sister in a group hug.”

Mikoto gave her sisters a big smile and told them, “I love you all so much!” This was actually the first time she had said that to her sisters. She was a bit surprised at herself for saying it so suddenly, but Mikoto did not regret revealing her true feelings.

“Mi-Misaka loves you too, Big Sister, says Misaka 19090, a little embarrassed but still reciprocating your heartfelt feelings.”

“Misaka also loves Big Sister, adds Misaka 10032, a bit reluctantly but still honestly.”

“Misaka loves her kind Big Sister too, echoes Misaka 13577.”

“Misaka loves you as well, concludes Misaka 10039.”

Touma silently observed the scene with a smile.  _ “I’m glad they were able to cheer her up. I hate seeing her feel bad about herself. Biri-Biri really gets along well with her sisters, doesn’t she?”  _ He made eye contact with Mikoto and commented, “You guys are such a sweet family!” 

Mikoto blushed heavily,  _ “Oh no, I forgot he was watching the whole time, this is so embarrassing!”  _ Nevertheless, she gave him a shy smile and replied, “Y-yeah, I guess so.” The girl then separated from her sisters.

“Unfortunately, all of us are scheduled for tests soon, so Misaka must say goodbye for now, reports Misaka 10032.”

Touma got up from the couch, “I see, I guess we should get going then, right Mikoto?” He was a bit sad they had to leave, but he had a lot of fun visiting Mikoto’s sisters, and he learned some more information about Last Order and Accelerator.

The girl replied, “Yeah. I’ll see you guys later!” Mikoto was happy that she got to spend more time with her sisters and with Touma, though she was still a bit conflicted about the information she learned about Accelerator.

“Misaka wants to thank both of you for visiting her and the other Misakas, says Misaka 19090 with a grateful smile. She hopes to see you again soon, adds Misaka 19090.”

“Yes, and please remember to get the necklaces, nags Misaka 10039, hoping the boy doesn’t forget.”

Touma replied, “Yeah, don’t worry, I’ll get them for you guys.” He had earlier agreed to get necklaces for the three other sisters, so the boy planned to do that soon.  _ “Though with my luck, I’ll end up having to get almost ten thousand necklaces for all the sisters. Hopefully Biri-Biri will help pay for them if that happens.”  _

“Misaka is looking forward to it, concurs Misaka 13577. Goodbye for now, adds Misaka 13577, careful to be polite.”

Mikoto and Touma then exited the room, leaving the four Misaka sisters to undergo their tests. Both of them were pretty satisfied with the visit. Mikoto got to see her sisters once again, and gained valuable information about Last Order. Touma got to meet three new sisters and see Misaka 10032 again, and he was able to observe Mikoto being a great older sister. Being aware that Mikoto’s friends didn’t know about her sisters, Touma was secretly pleased to be one of the only people to see this side of her.


	7. Shopping Trip

Mikoto and Touma exited from the hospital, having just visited her sisters. The boy thought back to her interactions with her sisters and how well they had bonded with each other. It had been a pretty wholesome sight, and Touma felt lucky that he was able to witness it.

The girl noticed that he was gazing at her with a fond smile. She nervously asked, “W-what, is there something on my face?”

He ruffled Mikoto’s hair and gushed, “No, I was just thinking about how sweet an older sister you are, Biri-Biri! It’s great that you’re so close with them after just a month and a half!”

Mikoto blushed furiously, looking down to avoid the boy’s gaze, and stuttered, “Th-thanks.” She was a bit unsure about his intentions. _“Is he just teasing me, or does he actually mean it?”_ She lifted her head back up and saw his genuine smile. _“I guess he does mean it. He’s been weirdly nice to me since yesterday.”_

The girl composed herself and continued, “It was pretty awkward at first, especially since I was still blaming myself for their suffering. But you were right, they didn’t blame me for it at all. I visited them as often as I could, and I guess we’ve bonded a lot as a result.”

Touma retrieved his hand and then said, “That’s great to hear! So I was actually thinking of going to the underground mall to buy those necklaces for your sisters. Do you want to come with me?” He figured having Mikoto around to help pick out the necklaces would be a good idea.

The girl answered, “Y-yeah, sure.” She didn’t expect him to ask to spend more time together, but she wasn’t about to turn down the opportunity. _“Is he inviting me for a shopping date? Nah, a date probably doesn’t involve buying presents for other girls.”_

The boy replied, “Great, they told me what types of necklaces they want in general, but I might need some help picking out specific ones. Plus, we’ll get to spend some more time together!”

Mikoto smiled, _“He wants to spend more time with me?”_ She said, “That sounds great! I don’t think they’ll be that picky. As long as you get the correct types, they’ll probably be pretty happy.” She added to herself, _“Especially since they’ll be getting presents from you.”_

The two teens started heading towards the underground mall. Now that she had the chance to talk to the boy alone, Mikoto gave him a teasing grin and said, “So it seems you were enjoying all the attention you got from my sisters, and now you’re buying them all jewelry. Are you into the little sister type after all?” Although the girl was mostly joking around, she was pretty curious about what he thought of her sisters, since they had gotten along pretty well.

Touma blushed at the sudden accusation. _“Uh oh, she just asked a dangerous question.”_ Trying to dispel the girl’s suspicions, he replied, “No no, I mean they’re definitely cute and pretty sweet, but I’m into the mature onee-san type girls.”

_“Wow, I can’t believe he just came out and said it so easily. I am an older sister, but that’s probably not what he meant. But if he thinks my sisters are cute, he should also think that I’m cute, right?”_ Mikoto then narrowed her eyes and asked him, “What exactly do you mean by mature?” She guessed, _“I bet he means older and more well-endowed girls. He goes to a co-ed high school, so he’s probably used to seeing those kinds of girls.”_

_“Huh, she’s pretty interested in this for some reason.”_ Touma answered, “Hmm, I guess someone who can take care of me if I’m having a worse day than usual and who doesn’t instantly get mad over misunderstandings.” He blushed a little and continued, “A-and a well-developed body doesn’t hurt either.”

Mikoto looked down at her body and frowned, _“Well, he probably doesn’t think I have that kind of body, based on what he said about me when we first met.”_ The girl then tried cheering herself up, _“I have been doing pretty well at not losing my temper and being nice to him, and I think he’s noticing it.”_ Noticing that he had focused on personality traits instead of physical traits, Mikoto hoped that she could make up for her deficiencies. 

In any case, Mikoto actually thought his desires were pretty wholesome. She eventually replied, “Well, that makes sense, I guess you want a girl who’ll pamper and comfort you whenever you come home from all the fights you get into?”

Touma rubbed his head and chuckled, “Well, I hope there’ll come a time where I won’t have to get into fights almost every day, though probably not with my luck. But you’re right, having a nice girl to come home to would help a lot.” He added to himself, _“As opposed to Index, who usually bites me when I return from a fight.”_

_“I can take care of him, right? I did it yesterday, and he seemed to really like it. Maybe I do have a chance after all!”_ Mikoto smiled and pumped her fist, hoping that the boy would start seeing her as an option.

Unaware of the girl’s inner thoughts, Touma continued, “Though there’s probably no way any girl would fall for this misfortune boy, let alone one of my type.” From what he could tell, most of the girls he knew just saw him as a moron who causes trouble.

Mikoto abruptly stopped walking and blinked dumbly. _“Is he kidding? Is this idiot seriously that dense? Me, my sisters, that nun, probably a bunch of other girls...has he really not noticed?”_ She couldn’t believe that he couldn’t see all the obvious signs.

The boy stopped as well and said, “Misaka?” He wondered why she had suddenly frozen, but he couldn’t figure out why.

The girl sighed, “It’s nothing, let’s keep going.” She started walking again, and the boy soon shrugged and joined her. _“Well, I guess if he thinks that it’s impossible, then he’d miss all the obvious clues. But seriously, how can he think that no girl would ever be into him?”_

Noticing that he had just called her Misaka again, Mikoto changed the subject, “So, I see you’re back to calling me by my surname again, huh?”

Touma replied, “Well, you’re the only Misaka around now, so I don’t need to use your given name, right?”

Mikoto conceded, “Yeah, that’s true. Though it feels a bit weird for you to call me by my surname but my sisters by their versions of given names.” She added to herself, _“Not to mention the honorific.”_

_ “Does she want me to keep using her given name?”  _ The boy grinned at her and asked, “Oh, then would you prefer me to call you Mikoto?” 

The girl’s cheeks reddened, and she stammered, “W-well, I don’t really care either way, but y-you can call me that if you want.” Her heart fluttered as she thought about Touma regularly calling her Mikoto, which no one else did besides her parents. 

Touma chuckled, enjoying her adorable reaction. He replied, “All right then, Mikoto.” He was a bit surprised that she was okay with him continuing to call her by her given name, but perhaps she’d gotten used to it earlier.

The boy then mused, “Speaking of names, I don’t think you’ve ever called me by name. You just call me an idiot.” It wasn’t something that really bothered him, but he thought it would be a good time to finally bring it up.

Mikoto retorted, “Well, you _are_ an idiot, so I think it’s a pretty fitting nickname. If you get to call me Biri-Biri, it’s only fair I get to have a nickname for you.”

Touma countered, “Yeah, but I do also call you by your actual name. Come to think of it, do you even know what my name is?” He wondered if that was the reason she never called him by name.

The girl stammered in response to his question, “W-what? Of course I know what your name is! It’s K-Kamijou T-Touma!” She was not at all used to using his name, so she had a bit of a hard time saying it.

_“Oh, so she did know it after all.”_ The boy grinned, “Well then, it wouldn’t hurt to use it once in a while, right? If you want, you can call me by my given name too.” 

She blushed as she realized, _“He wants to be on a given name basis with me?”_ Mikoto answered, “All right, T-Touma.” She looked down, a bit embarrassed, and softly said, “S-sorry, it might take me some time to get used to this.”

_“Hmm, maybe I took it a little too far.”_ Touma patted her head a few times and said, “That’s fine, Mikoto, I can wait.” He didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, though it felt nice for her to call him by his given name. _“It feels a bit different than when Index does it.”_

The girl replied, “O-okay then.” She reasoned to herself, _“It shouldn’t be a big deal, right? It’s just a name, one word, two syllables. I don’t know how he’s so calm about this, but I should get the hang of it soon.”_

Now that they had settled the name issue, Mikoto and Touma continued their journey to the underground mall. It took a bit longer, but once they reached the entrance to the mall, they descended down the stairs, ready to look for the necklaces the Misaka sisters had requested. 

* * *

Mikoto and Touma were now in the underground mall, back in the store where the boy had previously bought Misaka 10032’s necklace. This store sold a lot of cheap accessories, including necklaces, so Touma wasn’t too afraid of draining his wallet by buying a few necklaces here.

Touma recounted, “So, we need a star necklace for 10039-chan, a flower one for 13577-chan, and a snowflake one for 19090-chan, right?” He was pretty sure he remembered them correctly, but he wanted to make sure.

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, I think that’s right. Those are all pretty common designs, so we shouldn’t have too much trouble finding them.” She was glad that her sisters hadn’t asked for more uncommon types of necklaces.

They first came across a selection of flower necklaces. There were actually many more types than Touma expected, each with a different kind of flower. He wasn’t quite sure how to pick one, so he turned to the girl and asked, “Hey, do you know what type of flower 13577-chan would like? Maybe one similar to the ones on your hair clip?”

“My hair clip?” Mikoto brought her hand up to touch the two daisy flowers in her hair. She was a bit surprised, since Touma didn’t seem like the type of guy to notice things like that. She replied, “I’m not entirely sure. I mean, I like these flowers, but she might not have the same taste. She didn’t ask for a specific kind of flower, so it might not matter that much to her.”

Touma said, “Yeah, that makes sense. How about we pick a flower different from yours, then? That way, she’ll have her own unique one.”

Mikoto nodded, “Sure.” She began looking at the selection of flower necklaces more closely. There were quite a few ones with roses, but the girl didn’t really want Touma to give her sister one of those necklaces. Instead, she pointed out a different one, “How about this one? It has a really pretty lotus flower.”

The boy glanced over at the necklace. The charm on it was a metal outline of a lotus flower. He replied, “Yeah, this one looks good.” He took it off the hook and held it up in front of Mikoto.

The girl was a bit confused by his sudden action and asked, “What are you doing?” 

He replied, “I’m just trying to see how it’ll look when she wears it, since you two look almost exactly the same.” The boy wanted to make sure that it was the right size.

Mikoto said, “Oh okay, that makes sense. I think it’s about the same length as the one 10032-chan has, so it should work.”

Touma nodded, “Great, let’s get this one then! Hopefully she’ll like it.” When he had bought the heart-shaped necklace for Misaka 10032, she was the one who had picked it out, so the boy was a bit nervous about not having the sisters’ direct input this time.

The girl reassured him, “I’m sure she will. Now, let’s go look for those other two necklaces.” 

Touma started carrying the necklace, remarking, “Okay, now we just need a star necklace and a snowflake necklace! It’s sort of fitting that 19090-chan wanted a snowflake necklace, since she’s a little different from your other sisters.” 

Mikoto replied, “Yeah, it looks like she put a bit of thought into her choice.” By this time, they were right next to a selection of star-shaped necklaces, and she noticed a section of snowflake necklaces a bit further away. She pointed to them and said, “I see a bunch of snowflake necklaces over there. How about you go look at the ones over here, and I’ll go over there and take a look?” 

The boy nodded and started taking a look while the girl separated from him to look at the snowflake necklaces. They were all pretty similar, so after some time, Touma just took one with a gold-colored charm and compared its length with the necklace he was already carrying. _“They’re about the same size, so it should be fine. There’s not as much variety for these ones, anyway. The only choice you really have is whether to get a gold-colored or a silver-colored one. Hopefully 10039-chan will like it!”_

Meanwhile, Mikoto was looking at a relatively large selection of snowflake necklaces. There were a large number of different designs to choose from. She ended up choosing one with a silver-colored snowflake with blue gems to accentuate the wintry feel. Holding it up to herself, she decided that it would fit her sister well. 

The girl took a moment to think about Misaka 19090. _“Touma seemed to like 19090-chan a lot. He was patient with her when she was nervous, and it seems he liked hugging her. But I can’t really blame him for it, she’s really sweet. He did say he wanted a nice girl, after all.”_ Glancing at the necklace she was holding, she continued, _“This is a really beautiful necklace. Hopefully, she’ll like it.”_

While the girl was browsing in another section of the store, Touma had already selected a star-shaped necklace for Misaka 10039. He was about to rejoin Mikoto when something caught his eye. It wasn’t another necklace, but it was a different kind of accessory. _“She’s been helping me choose these gifts for her sisters. I should probably get her something too. I’m not that good at buying gifts for girls, but maybe she’ll like this? It suits her pretty well.”_ Touma grabbed the accessory and hid it under the two necklaces he was holding, before rejoining the girl.

When he reached her, Mikoto noticed the star-shaped necklace in his hand and said, “That one looks pretty good.” She then showed him the snowflake necklace she picked out and asked, “What do you think of this one?”

Touma replied, “That one looks really pretty! Good choice, Mikoto!” He then held out his hand to receive it from her.

The girl, a bit flustered by his praise, replied, “T-thanks!” and placed the necklace into his hand. She was distracted enough to not notice the extra accessory he was carrying, especially since it was hidden under the necklaces. And since it was in his right hand, it was also invisible to her magnetic sight.

Touma took the three necklaces and the extra accessory to the checkout counter, trying to hide the extra gift. Fortunately, Mikoto decided to stay behind as he finished the purchase, so he was able to put them all in a bag without the girl seeing it. _“Phew, I somehow managed to keep it hidden. Now that it’s in the bag, I should be safe!”_

Once Touma completed the transaction, they exited the store and sat down on a bench to rest for a bit. Touma turned to Mikoto with a smile and said, “Thanks for coming with me, Biri-Biri. You were a big help!”

The girl blushed and waved her hands in front of her, “N-no no, I didn’t really do that much. I’m sure you could’ve done it on your own.” She had helped in picking out the necklaces, but the girl didn’t feel she did anything he couldn’t have done himself, especially since her sisters probably wouldn’t be that picky.

The boy countered, “Don’t be silly, without you I definitely would’ve made some weird choices. You picked two out of three necklaces, and they were the two hardest ones!” Touma knew he would’ve had a hard time picking a good flower necklace and perhaps the snowflake necklace as well.

Mikoto replied, “Well, anyway, I didn’t mind coming with you and helping out. So when are you going to give them to my sisters?”

Touma took a moment to think and then answered, “Well, I don’t really have any other plans today, so I could just go back to the hospital after lunch and give them the necklaces then. What about you, do you want to come back with me?”

The girl expected that he’d deliver the necklaces another day, so she was surprised by him wanting to immediately go back. She replied, “That’s a good idea, that way you won’t have to carry those necklaces around. I’m pretty free too, so I’d be fine with going right after lunch.”

The boy nodded, “Okay then, let’s go back in the afternoon.” He was looking forward to going back, both to see the sisters again and to complete the errand that they’d requested of him.

Mikoto was also looking forward to seeing her sisters again, but there was one downside for her. _“I’ll probably have to watch them fawn all over him. 10032-chan was bad enough, but now all of them will get to hold it over me. Oh well, that just means I’ll have to try even harder!”_

With her resolve strengthened, the girl was ready to continue enjoying her time with Touma, no matter what obstacles were thrown in her way. 


	8. Lunch with Friends

Kuroko, Saten, and Uiharu were walking through the underground mall, having decided to go shopping. They hadn’t bought anything yet, but they planned to do so after getting lunch. Saten had texted Mikoto earlier asking if she wanted to join them, but she’d said she had other plans. 

Kuroko angrily muttered, “I bet onee-sama’s having another secret assignation with that troglodyte.” She gritted her teeth in frustration, causing Saten and Uiharu to step away from her a bit.

Uiharu wondered, “Shirai-san, what do you mean by ‘another’? Did they have one already?” She was the only one out of the loop about Mikoto and Touma hanging out the previous day.

Saten realized,  _ “Looks like Shirai-san already found out, so no need to keep it a secret anymore.”  _ She explained, “Misaka-san was hanging out yesterday with Kamijou-san, that spiky-haired boy from the Daihasei Festival. I actually took some cute pictures of them, look!” She pulled out her phone, showing those photos to Uiharu.

Uiharu squealed loudly and gushed, “Wow, they look so cute together! Are they going out now? Did Misaka-san finally confess to him?”

Saten sighed, “Unfortunately, no. I talked to her after he left, and she said they’re still just friends. Misaka-san thinks he doesn’t like her back, but I’m not sure about that.” Based on what her friend had told her, Saten suspected that the boy was starting to grow more fond of Mikoto.

Kuroko continued grumbling, “I can’t believe that onee-sama let that troglodyte violate her innocence like that! He’s defiled her luscious hair and her delectable legs!” She thought back to their argument the previous night,  _ “Why am I not good enough for you, onee-sama? Why do you never smile like that around me?” _

Uiharu ignored the girl’s disturbed whining and said, “I do wonder if Shirai-san is right about Misaka-san having plans with Kamijou-san today.”

Saten grinned, “Maybe, I think she’s trying to be a bit bolder in going after him, so I wouldn’t be surprised.” As she glanced around her surroundings, the girl saw a glimpse of brown hair and a Tokiwadai uniform. Looking more closely, her eyes widened and she recognized her friend and that spiky-haired boy. She pointed towards the pair and exclaimed, “Hey look, I think that’s them over there!”

Kuroko looked at where Satan was pointing and shouted, “Onee-sama!” She immediately started teleporting towards them, with Saten and Uiharu running after her in an effort to minimize the damage she might cause.

The girl’s shout was loud enough that Mikoto and Touma were able to hear it. Mikoto groaned, while Touma froze in fear of what an enraged Kuroko could do to him.

Once Kuroko appeared in front of them, she saw that the two were sitting really close together. She covered her eyes and despaired, “Noooo, I didn’t want to believe it, but it’s true! You’re having another shopping date with this troglodyte!”

_ “Shopping date? This girl and her misunderstandings.”  _ Touma was still unsure on how to deal with her, but figured it was best if he stayed quiet for now and let Mikoto handle her.

Mikoto said in an irritated tone, “Geez Kuroko, you need to stop misinterpreting things like this! What are you even doing here anyway?”

By this point, Saten and Uiharu had reached them as well. Uiharu physically restrained Kuroko, while Saten answered, “We came here for some shopping, Misaka-san, remember? We invited you, but you said you were busy.” She gave her friend a teasing grin and added, “Now I see why! Hello, Kamijou-san! Nice to see you again!”

Mikoto’s cheeks reddened at her friend’s implication and replied, “O-oh yeah, now I remember.”

Touma smiled at Saten, “Hey, Saten-san! Nice to see you too.” Turning to the remaining two girls, he added, “Hello again, Shirai-san. And you’re Uiharu-san, right?”

While straining to restrain a struggling Kuroko, Uiharu replied, “Yeah, it’s good to see you again, Kamijou-san. What are you and Misaka-san doing here?”

Mikoto, trying to think of how to explain their presence, said, “Well, we’re actually here shopping too.” She turned to the boy, silently asking for his help explaining what they were doing without mentioning her sisters.

Touma held up the shopping bag and continued, “Yeah, I was buying some presents for a few friends of mine, and I asked Biri-Biri to help me since she knows them too.”

Uiharu tilted her head in confusion, “Biri-Biri?” She guessed that he was referring to Mikoto, but was a bit surprised he didn’t call her by her name.

The boy chuckled before clarifying, “Oh, that’s just my nickname for her.” 

Saten smirked and replied, “Oh, that’s a really cute nickname! I guess it’s because of her ability, right?” Her friend hadn’t mentioned the nickname before, but Saten found it adorable that Touma had a special nickname for her.

Kuroko was less pleased with this information, “Onee-sama, are you going to just let him mock your powers with that ridiculous nickname?” Based on what she knew of her roommate, Mikoto would surely be irritated at Touma for calling her that nickname.

However, Mikoto was blushing instead, since her friends’ comments reminded her about her conversation with the boy the previous day. She shyly played with her fingers and replied, “I-I don’t mind, really. I-I’ve actually started to like it.”

Touma’s eyes widened as he heard the last part,  _ “She likes it? I thought she just decided to tolerate it. And I’m surprised she admitted it out loud.”  _

Kuroko quickly deflated and became absolutely despondent,  _ “That troglodyte has even tamed her unladylike temper! Onee-sama, why do you have that lovestruck face whenever you think of him?”  _

Saten giggled and said quietly to Uiharu, “Misaka-san looks pretty cute like that, don’t you think?” 

Uiharu was a little flustered, “Y-yeah, it’s incredible that Kamijou-san has such a big effect on Misaka-san! I’ve never seen her like this. I guess this is what a maiden in love looks like!”

Saten turned back to the pair on the bench and said, “So, we were just about to get lunch. Do you guys want to join us?”

Touma answered, “Sure, we were about to get lunch too.” He turned to the girl beside him and added, “Is that okay with you, Mikoto?”

The girl nodded, “Yeah, sure, T-Touma.” She was still nervous using his name, especially in front of her friends, but Mikoto still wanted to do so.

Kuroko was becoming increasingly depressed,  _ “Not just a nickname, but given names too? How did this suddenly happen? A few days ago, she was upset with him, but now they’re somehow closer than ever! What kind of spell has that barbarian put you under, onee-sama?” _

Uiharu’s eyes widened, “Oh wow, you two are on a given name basis! You must be really close!”

Mikoto nervously replied, “Y-yeah, sort of. Anyway, let’s go get lunch!” She then stood up, and Touma soon followed her lead. The five teens started heading for a place to eat, with Kuroko dragging herself behind them in despair.

* * *

  
  


They had decided to go to a fast food place, and were now sitting down and eating their meals. Touma took out his phone for a moment to check the time, and the girls noticed a Gekota strap attached to it. 

Saten didn’t think that he was someone who would be into that character, so she asked, “Hey, Kamijou-san, why do you have a Gekota strap on your phone?”

The boy answered, “Oh, this? Biri-Biri dragged me into getting a pair contract on our cell phones because she wanted the strap that came with it. She got two of these straps, so she gave me one of them.”

Uiharu replied, “Yeah, that sure sounds like Misaka-san! But aren’t pair contracts supposed to be for couples?”

Mikoto blushed, remembering the similar conversation she’d had with Touma back then. She answered, “Well, it’s not like they really checked if you’re actually a couple. I just needed a guy to accompany me to get the contract.”

Kuroko angrily muttered, “I can’t believe they didn’t allow two girls. Then I could’ve gone with you, onee-sama.”

Mikoto crossed her arms and firmly replied, “Even if they did allow same-sex couples, I still wouldn’t have gone with you. You would’ve just tried to grope me the entire time, and that’s way more of a headache than dealing with this idiot.” 

Touma raised his eyebrows at the girl’s reply.  _ “I knew Shirai-san had a perverted obsession with her, but I didn’t know it went that far. Mikoto might even have a more troublesome roommate than mine.” _

Saten then asked the boy, “So do you like Gekota too, Kamijou-san?” 

The boy answered, “No, not really.” He then looked at Mikoto with a smile and added, “But it’s a gift from a friend, so it would be rude for me to not use it, especially after all the trouble we went through to get it.”

The girl smiled back and shyly said, “Y-yeah, it was a lot of trouble, wasn’t it?” She was touched that he had a sentimental reason for keeping the strap.

Saten thought to herself,  _ “He’s really sweet, no wonder Misaka-san likes him so much!” _

Kuroko snidely remarked to the boy, “I’m surprised you’re indulging onee-sama in her childish obsessions.” She wished Mikoto would grow up and learn to be a more mature lady.

_ “Like you have any right to lecture someone about their obsessions.”  _ Touma replied, “Yeah, Biri-Biri’s obsession with that frog is a bit silly and childish, but as long as she’s happy, what’s the harm?”

Mikoto pouted, “Gekota isn’t childish! There are people of all ages who enjoy it!” She was internally pleased that he wanted her to be happy, but she couldn’t let that insult to Gekota go unchecked. Everyone else just sighed in exasperation.

Uiharu was the least familiar with the boy, so she decided to ask, “Oh, Kamijou-san, if you don’t mind me asking, what level are you?” She knew that asking someone’s level could be a little rude, but she figured that the boy would be open to answering.

Touma nervously put his hand on his neck and answered, “Oh, I’m a Level 0. Just an ordinary high school boy.”

Mikoto immediately became irritated, and lightly elbowed the boy in the side. Once he turned to face her in confusion, she pointed at him and exclaimed, “Listen here you idiot! You’re not just an ordinary high school boy! I’ve never been able to beat you in a fight, no matter how many times I’ve tried! It really bugs me that you don’t seem to have confidence in your own strength!”

_ “Oh, she was the one challenging me to fights? That makes a lot of sense, and at least I wasn’t the type of guy who’d start fights with middle school girls.”  _ Touma wasn’t quite sure how to respond to the girl, but he could tell that she felt really strongly about this. He eventually replied, “I’m sorry, Mikoto, I didn’t mean to make fun of you or anything.”

The girl sighed, “I know, I know.” She knew that he was probably just being modest, but she wondered whether Touma actually didn’t see his own strength.

Saten was shocked to hear Mikoto say that she’d been unable to defeat the boy in fights. She asked him, “Misaka-san hasn’t been able to beat you? You said you’re a Level 0, right? How did you do it?” Saten wondered if that meant she could also be powerful even if she remained at her current level.

Mikoto frowned, guessing what Saten was thinking. She said, “It’s not what you think, Saten-san. He actually does have an ability.”

Touma nodded, “Yeah, my right hand has the ability to negate any esper power it comes into contact with. So I can use it to protect myself from Biri-Biri’s electric shocks. It also negates my own AIM field, so Academy City labels me as the weakest Level 0.”

Saten lamented, “Aw man!” She then widened her eyes as she realized, “Wait, you can negate any esper ability?” She pointed at the boy and said, “You’re that urban legend!”

The boy was confused and questioned, “Urban legend?” Was there some sort of rumor about him circulating in the city?

The girl excitedly nodded, “Yeah, you’re the Negating Man! There are a bunch of posts on the internet about a guy who can negate everyone’s abilities!”

Touma nervously chuckled, “Oh really?” He hadn’t realized that his exploits were that widely known.

Kuroko took this moment to chime in, “That’s a pretty unique ability. I guess it would explain why I couldn’t teleport you that time you visited our dorm room.” She added to herself,  _ “And how he was able to negate Musujime’s teleportation wave. Onee-sama tends to get into fights, so if he really was able to defeat her with that ability, it makes sense why she’s so interested in him.” _

Uiharu raised her eyebrows at that revelation, “You visited Shirai-san and Misaka-san’s room? I thought boys weren’t allowed in the Tokiwadai dorms.”

The boy hadn’t expected Kuroko to mention that. Not wanting Uiharu and Saten to come to a misunderstanding, he quickly clarified, “Yeah, but it was sort of an emergency, and I really needed to find Mikoto.”

Kuroko nodded, “This troglodyte is telling the truth. That was a couple of months ago, during that time that onee-sama was disappearing every night without any explanation. I hoped that he would have some information on her, but I had to go distract the dorm manager, and he was gone by the time I got back.”

Saten turned to Touma and asked, “Do you know why Misaka-san was spending all those nights away from her dorm? We were worried about her, and she still hasn’t told us.”

The boy gulped, trying to figure out a way to not betray Mikoto’s trust. He could see Mikoto looking at him with a silent plea. He eventually replied, “I do know what she was up to, and I’m just really glad that I found her later that night.”

Mikoto sighed in relief. She felt guilty about leaving her friends in the dark, but she knew that it was probably too dangerous for them to know about her sisters and the experiment at the moment. She smiled, “Yeah, he did find me, and he was able to solve the problem that I’d been failing to solve all that time I was gone.”

Uiharu wondered, “What sort of problem would Kamijou-san be able to solve in one night that you couldn’t over multiple nights?”

Saten’s eyes widened as she recalled, “Wait, I think I might know! There was another urban legend that circulated back then.” 

Mikoto tensed, remembering that there was indeed a rumor about Level 5 clones being created. Was Saten about to put two and two together and figure it all out?

Saten continued, “It said that the 1st Ranked Level 5, the strongest esper in Academy City, was defeated by a Level 0! I didn’t believe it because it seemed impossible.”

Uiharu quickly understood where Saten was going, “I see, if the Level 0 was Kamijou-san, then it is possible, because he can negate the Number 1’s ability. That would also explain why Misaka-san was unable to defeat him, since he’s higher-ranked than her. Though I feel like even with his negating ability, it would still be difficult to defeat the strongest esper.”

Mikoto was partially glad that they hadn’t found out about her sisters, but she still wished they hadn’t figured out Accelerator’s role. She replied, “Yeah it was. By the end of the fight, this idiot had lost a lot of blood and could barely stand up. In fact, he fell unconscious right after he knocked the other guy out, and had to go to the hospital!”

Touma nervously added, “It wasn’t as bad as she’s making it seem! I recovered pretty quickly!”

Mikoto crossed her arms and recalled, “You left the hospital early, when you still weren’t fully recovered!” She wished the boy wouldn’t be so reckless with his own health.

Wanting to forestall a bigger argument, Saten turned to Mikoto and said, “So, Kamijou-san defeated the Number 1 esper for you. That’s pretty cool! No wonder you said you owe a lot to him!”

Mikoto became a bit flustered, “Y-yeah, I do.” But she reminded herself,  _ “It’s not like he’ll let me repay him in any way.” _

Kuroko turned to the boy and asked, “Why did onee-sama need to defeat the Number 1 in the first place?” Her roommate had told her the previous night that Touma had saved her, presumably from the Number 1, but Mikoto had refused to elaborate.

Touma glanced at Mikoto, who was clearly a bit distressed. He turned back to Kuroko, “I’m sorry, Shirai-san, but that’s Biri-Biri’s secret. She’s the one who went through the whole mess, I just found out about it on my own and helped out at the end.”

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, a part of me wants to tell you guys, but it’s very dangerous information. Even knowing about it could get you targeted by the dark side of Academy City.” She wished her sisters could live a normal life and meet her friends, but Mikoto knew it wasn’t yet the right time.

Kuroko frowned,  _ “I guess I’m not strong enough to see this part of onee-sama’s world. I could only wait patiently at home while she fought by herself until this troglodyte saved her. And when I tried to take a step into her world fight on her behalf, I got absolutely destroyed. Maybe I’m just meant to be a bit player in her story.” _

Saten was disappointed, but shrugged, “Well, if Misaka-san had so much trouble with it, it must be pretty dangerous.” She then turned to the boy and asked with a grin, “Oh, how were those homemade cookies?”

Mikoto’s eyes widened,  _ “Nooo, why is she bringing that up now?” _ She tried shaking her head and hands to steer the girl off that topic. 

Touma was confused, “What homemade cookies?” 

Saten ignored her friend’s silent plea and clarified, “The homemade cookies that Misaka-san made you? I helped her make them, so I’m curious how they ended up. She didn’t tell me who they were for, but now I’m pretty sure it was you, since it was around that time.”

The boy looked at Mikoto, who had a panicked expression on her face. He replied, “Hmm, Mikoto gave me store-bought cookies when she visited me in the hospital. I did tell her that homemade cookies would’ve been better, but she never gave me any.”

Mikoto groaned, hiding her face behind her hands.  _ “I don’t have any choice now, do I?”  _ She took her hands off her face and started nervously fidgeting with them. With an embarrassed blush on her face, she admitted, “W-well, Saten-san is right, I-I did bake some cookies for you, but I was surprised when I ran into you on the bridge the next day. I-I just couldn’t find the right timing to mention them and give them to you.”

_ “Oh, that’s why she came to visit me again.”  _ Touma felt really bad for not realizing it at the time, especially since he had complained about her store-bought cookies. He reached for her head and softly stroked her hair, saying, “I’m sorry for not noticing, Biri-Biri. I know you must’ve worked hard on those cookies.”

The girl’s cheeks reddened even more, and she stammered, “I-it’s not your fault, I should’ve spoken up instead of just letting you leave.” She felt frustrated that she’d been too embarrassed to give him the cookies.

_ “Wow, this is a whole new side of Misaka-san! Is this always how she always acts when she’s around him?”  _ Saten felt like she was intruding on a private moment, but she couldn’t help but watch them.

Uiharu gushed,  _ “Kamijou-san is really sweet! Come to think of it, he’s like a heroic knight that swooped in to save Misaka-san!”  _

Kuroko wanted to do something to stop them, but she could tell that Mikoto was enjoying the boy’s attention.  _ “Whenever I do something like that to onee-sama, she gives me her electric whip. How does this troglodyte do it?” _

Once the boy finished reassuring her, Mikoto and Touma smiled at each other for a few moments before finally looking away.

The five of them soon finished their meals. As they were getting ready to leave, Touma announced, “Well, Biri-Biri and I are going to go deliver these presents.”

Mikoto added, “Yeah, I’ll see you guys later, okay?”

Uiharu replied, “Bye, you two!” She was excited for Mikoto, knowing that she was going to spend some more time with the boy she liked.

Saten grinned, “Yeah, you guys have fun together!” Based on her friend’s interactions with the boy, she concluded,  _ “I don’t think Misaka-san has any reason to worry. Kamijou-san seems very fond of her!” _

Kuroko was morose, but she put on a brave face and replied, “I’ll be eagerly awaiting you at home, onee-sama!”

Having said their goodbyes, Mikoto and Touma then began heading back to the hospital to deliver the necklaces to her sisters. 


	9. Gift Delivery

Mikoto and Touma had arrived back at the hospital, and they once again entered the room where the girl’s sisters were staying. The four girls in question were all present, having completed their tests and eaten lunch.

“Why did you two return here, asks Misaka 10032, curiously eyeing the bag in the boy’s hand.”

Touma answered, “Oh hey, 10032-chan! Biri-Biri and I just bought the necklaces your sisters wanted, so we came back to deliver them.”

“I see, replies Misaka 10032, realizing that she should’ve expected this. The other Misakas are over there, adds Misaka 10032, pointing towards them.”

Mikoto smiled and waved at her other three sisters, “Hey again, guys!” They were all sitting down on the couch, but they got up to greet the new arrivals.

“Hello again, Big Sister, greets Misaka 19090. D-did you get Misaka a snowflake necklace, asks Misaka, addressing the boy.”

Touma pulled out the snowflake necklace from the bag and held it out to her, answering, “Yeah, here it is! Mikoto was the one who actually picked it out, though. What do you think?” The boy wanted to make sure that Mikoto got the credit she deserved.

“Misaka thinks it’s a beautiful necklace, says Misaka 19090, giving her honest opinion. C-could you perhaps put it on Misaka, earnestly requests Misaka 19090.”

The boy smiled, “Sure, 19090-chan!” He held out the necklace and carefully moved it down around her head, taking care to avoid her goggles. One it was in place, the boy let go and looked at the result, remarking, “It looks pretty good on you! I think it suits you well!”

“Th-thank you, stammers Misaka 19090, her face red from your compliment. Misaka is grateful for your gift, adds Misaka 19090 as she gives you a thank you hug.”

Touma blushed, a bit surprised to be embraced by the girl. He wrapped his arms around her and said, “You’re welcome!” The necklace was pushed against his chest, which was a little uncomfortable, but he still enjoyed hugging the girl. The two hugged for a few seconds before separating.

Mikoto let out a sad sigh at the sight,  _ “He even said that I was the one who picked it out, but 19090-chan really wants to hug him, doesn’t she?”  _ However, she was surprised when her sister started walking towards her after her hug with Touma.

“Misaka is not sure why you look sad, Big Sister, but she wants to thank you for picking out her necklace, says Misaka 19090, giving you a hug as well.”

Mikoto was also surprised, but smiled and returned her sister’s embrace.  _ “There I go, getting jealous for no reason again.”  _ She soon replied, “You’re welcome, 19090-chan! I’m glad you like it!”

Touma smiled at the sweet scene, but turned away as another sister approached him. He wasn’t sure which one she was, so he asked, “Hey, sorry, are you 10039-chan or 13577-chan?”

“I am Misaka 10039, and I requested a star necklace, gently reminds Misaka 10039, a little sad that you couldn’t tell her apart from 13577.”

The boy felt really bad for making her feel disappointed. Taking out the star-shaped necklace, Touma replied, “I’m really sorry, 10039-chan. Here, I picked out this necklace for you, I hope you like it!”

“Misaka does like it, assures Misaka 10039, giving you a smile. Misaka knows it’s hard to tell her apart and doesn’t want you to feel bad. Could you also place the necklace on Misaka, pleads Misaka 10039.”

_ “She’s really considerate, isn’t she?”  _ Touma smiled at her and put the necklace around her neck. He then stepped back and said, “There you go. What do you think?”

“Misaka is grateful for your present, replies Misaka 10039 as she gives you a hug to show her gratitude. She is happy that you personally picked it out for her, adds Misaka 10039.”

Touma returned the girl’s embrace and rubbed her back a little, hoping to make her feel better.  _ “Well, now that she has that necklace, I’ll at least be able to tell her apart from now on.”  _ After a bit longer, the two of them separated. She looked a lot happier now, so the boy was glad he was able to cheer her up.

Mikoto watched Misaka 10039 walk away from the boy, not expecting to get a hug from her, since she didn’t pick out that specific necklace. Instead, she turned to Misaka 10032, who was standing next to her and was in a similar situation. Mikoto wondered how she felt watching the other sisters receive necklaces from Touma.

“Misaka is regretful that she didn’t get to thank the boy in that manner, says Misaka 10032 in a low voice, careful not to let the boy hear her.”

_ “Is this girl serious? She’s complaining about that to me?”  _ Mikoto rolled her eyes and retorted, “Well, you got to spend quite some time with him at the underground mall, and you got that heart-shaped necklace.” She figured that those things were preferable to just a hug, though Mikoto knew that hugging the boy felt really nice.

“Interesting, so Big Sister thinks Misaka still has the lead, concludes Misaka 10032. But Misaka must continue moving forward if she wants to win, says Misaka 10032, encouraging herself.”

_ “Well, she has the right attitude, I suppose.”  _ Mikoto begrudgingly admired her sister for easily being able to do things she got flustered even thinking of.  _ “But I’ve spent a lot of time with him, so I shouldn’t be so worried.” _

Meanwhile, Touma turned to the remaining sister, Misaka 13577, and pulled out the last necklace from the bag, saying, “And here’s your flower necklace, 13577-chan. Mikoto also picked this one for you! Do you want me to put it on you?”

“Yes please, answers Misaka 13577, eyeing the beautiful lotus flower necklace with anticipation. Big Sister has really good taste, concludes Misaka 13577.”

The boy duly placed the necklace around her neck. Once he was done, he smiled at the girl and said, “All right, that’s the last one!” 

“Thanks, replies Misaka 13577 as she embraces you to show her gratitude.”

Touma returned her hug, musing,  _ “Wow, they must all really like the necklaces.”  _ Soon afterwards, he pulled away from her and watched as she approached Mikoto.

While Mikoto was watching the boy give the necklace to Misaka 13577, she glanced at the bag that he had set down. Her eyes widened as her magnetic sight detected a small metal box within it. She could tell there was a small metal object inside the box, though she couldn’t quite make out what it was exactly. She wondered,  _ “Did he buy something else from that shop? He didn’t say anything about it, so maybe he needed to get something for himself while he was there.” _

Before she could consider the subject any further, Mikoto saw that Misaka 13577 had reached her.

“Thank you for choosing this beautiful lotus necklace for Misaka, says Misaka 13577, giving Big Sister a hug.”

Mikoto chuckled and wrapped her arms around her sister, replying, “You’re very welcome, 13577-chan! It looks great on you!” She was happy that her sisters were acknowledging her part, instead of only thanking Touma. She smiled to herself and thought,  _ “I’m such a selfish older sister, aren’t I?” _

Once they separated, Mikoto glanced at all four of her sisters, each wearing a necklace. It was now possible to tell them apart by sight, and each sister was showing a unique individual flair.

An interesting idea came to Touma as he looked around at all the Misaka sisters. He took out his phone and said, “Hey, now that you all have your necklaces on, why don’t we take a family photo?” The boy figured it could be a nice keepsake.

“Misaka likes that idea, though she is curious why you have that frog strap on your phone, answers Misaka 10032.”

The boy replied, “Oh this, Biri-Biri got two of these when she made us sign up for a cell phone contract during the penalty game, and she gave one to me.” 

“Interesting, so Big Sister is further along than Misaka thought, concludes Misaka 10032 in an annoyed tone.”

Touma didn’t really get what she meant, so instead he said, “Anyway, why don’t you guys line up next to each other and I’ll take the photo.” 

Mikoto watched as her sisters lined up in numerical order, from left to right. Touma walked until he was right next to her, about to raise his phone to take a picture. Before he did so, he turned to Mikoto and said, “Why don’t you join them, Mikoto? That way, we can have all the Misakas in the picture.”

Mikoto was surprised at his request, “Really, you want me in the picture?” She thought he was just going to take a picture of her sisters.

He replied, “Of course! Don’t you want to be in the picture with your sisters? I did say it was a family photo, right?”

The girl smiled, “Yeah, you’re right!” She approached her sisters, who parted in the middle to accommodate her. Mikoto wedged herself between Misaka 10039 and Misaka 13577, wrapping an arm around each girl. 

Touma exclaimed, “Looking good, guys!” He then snapped a few photos of the five girls. Once he was finished, the girls crowded around him to look at the pictures. They all liked them, so the boy then said, “I can send these to you, Mikoto. Do you guys have phones?” He knew the sisters could store the photos on the Misaka Network since they had seen them, but having a digital copy would allow them to print them out if they wanted.

“Yes, we all have phones, answers Misaka 10032. You can send the photos to Misaka, and she’ll send them to the others.”

The boy nodded, “All right, then.” He sent the photos to Mikoto and Misaka 10032 by text, and the latter took out her phone and forwarded them to the other Misakas.

Now that the necklaces had been delivered, Mikoto said, “All right, we have to go now, but hopefully we’ll see each other soon!”

“Th-thank you again for the necklaces,'' replies Misaka 19090, saying her farewells to Big Sister and the boy.”

Touma picked up the bag the necklaces were in and replied, “You’re welcome, and I’ll see you guys around!” He would now be able to tell which sister was which when he encountered one of them around the city.

Mikoto and Touma soon left the room, leaving her sisters by themselves again. The girl glanced down at the bag, still a bit curious about what was inside, but she decided not to pry, figuring that it was none of her business. Little did she know, Touma was actually preparing to reveal to her what was inside.

* * *

As the two of them exited the hospital, Mikoto was a bit lost in thought,  _ “It’s been a pretty fun weekend, but I guess it had to end sometime.”  _ Both of them had other plans for the rest of the afternoon, so her time with Touma would have to end shortly.

Mikoto was about to say goodbye to the boy, but he interjected, “Oh Biri-Biri, could you wait for a moment? I have something here for you.” As he said this, he reached into the shopping bag and pulled out the box.

Mikoto was surprised, “That’s for me? I detected that there was something else in the bag with my magnetism, but I thought it was just something you bought for yourself.” She hadn’t expected Touma to get a gift for her, since she never asked him to, unlike her sisters.

Touma nervously rubbed his neck, “Yeah, when we were looking at the necklaces, I saw something that I thought you’d like. You helped me out with picking the necklaces, and I figured it’d be a good way to thank you.” He then held out the box for her to take.

Mikoto’s cheeks reddened,  _ “He really got me a present?”  _ She had been feeling a little left out with the boy buying gifts for her four sisters, so she was touched at his thoughtfulness. She took the box from his hand and stammered, “Th-thanks, that’s really sweet of you.” The box was too small to contain a necklace, so she wondered what it could be instead.

She opened the box, and her eyes widened as she saw what was inside. It was a small accessory, with a golden-colored lightning bolt with a capital letter M engraved in it. She picked it up to inspect it more closely and realized what it was. “A hair clip?”

Touma nodded, “Yeah, I was surprised they had these with letters engraved on them. I know you wear a hair clip all the time, and you’re an Electromaster, so I figured it would suit you. What do you think, is it too much?” He was a little worried that she wouldn’t really want it, since she had a hair clip already, but Touma hoped that she’d like it. 

_ “Wow, he actually put a lot of though into it.”  _ Mikoto’s blush deepened and she stammered, “N-no, not at all, I love it!” She nervously looked up at him and shyly asked, “C-could you put it on me?” Just like he had put the necklaces on her sisters, Mikoto wanted him to do the same with his gift to her. She thought,  _ “Maybe he’ll play with my hair a little when he puts the clip on. He seems to like doing that for some reason.” _

_ “Her too, huh?”  _ The boy smiled at her and replied, “Sure, Biri-Biri!” He took the hair clip in his left hand and asked, “Where do you want me to put it in your hair?” He wondered if she’d prefer to have it near her flower hair clip or on the opposite side of her hair.

The girl fidgeted with her fingers and answered, “C-could you put it on my left side, opposite to my flower clip?” She wanted to wear the hair clip immediately, but she also wanted to keep wearing her flower hair clip, so Mikoto figured that wearing them symmetrically would be the best arrangement.

Touma replied, “All right.” Using his free right hand, the boy gently brushed his fingers through the left side of her hair in order to straighten it a bit. Once that was done, he held a strand of her hair in his left hand while carefully attaching the lightning hair clip. Once it was secure, he lowered his hand and announced, “Okay, it’s on! It looks really good on you!”

Mikoto had become extremely flustered while the boy was playing with her hair, so she found it difficult to speak immediately, especially after he complimented how she looked. Instead, she raised her left hand to feel the new hair clip, though she already knew its position thanks to her magnetism. She then took out her phone and used its camera to see how she looked.  _ “He’s right, it does look pretty good on me.” _

Touma patiently watched the girl examine herself on her phone, feeling happy as he saw her smile at her new appearance. Mikoto then put her phone away again and finally replied, “Th-thanks, it’s really thoughtful of you to give me something so personalized.” She then grinned and added, “Though I’m a little surprised you didn’t get one with a B on it instead.”

Touma took a second to realize what she was referring to, but then chuckled, “That would’ve been funny, but it probably wouldn’t make any sense if someone who doesn’t know that nickname sees it. Anyway, I’m glad you like it, I don’t have a lot of experience shopping for girls, so I was worried I might have done something wrong.”

Mikoto shook her head, “No no, it’s really great!” Building up her courage, she soon wrapped her arms around him. With her head pressed against his shoulder, Mikoto softly said, “Thank you, T-Touma.” The girl wasn’t used to being this affectionate with him, but he definitely deserved it, so Mikoto wanted to do her best.

Touma was a little flustered by her sudden hug and her saying his name in that tone, but he returned her embrace, wrapping one arm around her back and gently stroking the back of her hair with his other hand. Recalling the reactions of her sisters to the necklaces, he joked, “I’m getting a lot of hugs from Misakas today, huh?” Nevertheless, he thought,  _ “This hug is a bit different from her sisters’ hugs, though. For some reason, it feels a little warmer.” _

Mikoto chuckled,  _ “Yeah, he’s right about that. I guess that, in the end, I’m just copying my sisters.”  _ It had been hard to watch her sisters hugging the boy, but she figured it would be good if he got along well with them, since they were part of her family. Mikoto let herself enjoy the hug for a few moments, savoring the relaxing feeling of his fingers in her hair. She considered if there was anything else she could do to show her gratitude and differentiate herself a bit more from her sisters.

The girl blushed as an idea came to her. It made her really nervous, but after pondering it for a few seconds, she decided to do it anyway. She closed her eyes and gave Touma a kiss on the cheek. As she did so, Mikoto immediately felt his hand stop moving in her hair. Her face became even redder and she pressed her face into his shoulder in embarrassment.

Touma froze the moment he felt the girl’s lips on his cheek. He also began blushing as he realized what the girl had done and hesitantly said, “Biri-Biri?” He wondered,  _ “What did she do that for?” _

Mikoto internally groaned,  _ “Oh man, why did I do that, now I have to find a way to explain it!”  _ She couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye at the moment, but she replied, “S-sorry, I just wanted to do something else to thank you.” The girl hoped that he wouldn’t find it too weird, since she didn’t want to scare him off.

The boy smiled, “I see, well it felt pretty nice, so don’t worry about it, okay?” He was still a bit confused, but didn’t want the girl to feel bad, so he continued stroking her hair again to reassure her.

Mikoto was relieved at his response, and silently nodded against his shoulder. After a bit longer, the girl pulled her arms back and slightly stepped away from the boy, causing him to remove his arm from her back. She gave him a smile and said, “Thank you again for the gift! I have to go now, but I’ll see you around, okay?”

Touma ruffled the top of her head a bit before replying, “You’re welcome, Biri-Biri! I’ll see you later!” He’d had a lot of fun with her, and he looked forward to seeing her again. 

The two of them then split up and headed in different directions to continue their afternoons, each looking back fondly on their time together that weekend.


	10. Supportive Friends?

Later that day, Mikoto met up with her friends at Joseph’s for dinner. Even though she’d seen them earlier that day, she was looking forward to catching up with them. 

While they waited for their food, Uiharu asked, “Misaka-san, how was the rest of your day with Kamijou-san?” She was pretty curious about what had happened between them after lunch, and she knew that both Saten and Kuroko were curious as well, though the latter for different reasons.

Mikoto’s cheeks reddened a little as she replied, “I didn’t spend the whole day with that idiot! Like he said, we just delivered the items he bought, and soon after that was done, we split up.”

Kuroko suspiciously wondered, “Soon after? That sounds like something happened between you and that troglodyte, onee-sama! Did he do anything to you during that extra time?”

Mikoto quickly protested, “No, of course not! Where do these crazy ideas of yours even come from?” Her roommate kept thinking that Touma did perverted things to her whenever they were alone together, and it was tiring to keep refuting the idea each time.

Saten tried to calm the girl down and said, “Yeah Shirai-san, I’m sure not much happened between them. After all, if something did happen, I’m sure Misaka-san would let us know, right?”

Mikoto was unnerved by her friend’s question and nervously replied, “Y-yeah, I mean, there wasn’t anything major that happened. He thanked me for helping him with the gifts, and we said goodbye.” She was a bit reluctant to mention his gift to her, since she knew Kuroko would make a big deal out of it.

Saten was unconvinced, _“The way she’s acting, I’m pretty sure something did happen. I wonder what it was.”_

Mikoto was sitting to the left of Kuroko and directly across from Saten, while Uiharu was diagonally across and to her right. As she turned her head slightly to the right, Saten noticed something different about her and asked, “Oh hey, is that a new hair clip?” She pointed to the accessory on the left side of the girl’s hair.

Mikoto grimaced, _“Darn, I was hoping that maybe they wouldn’t notice it. But I do want to keep wearing it, so they’d find out soon anyway.”_ She replied, “Oh yeah, it is.” The girl blushed and smiled as she recalled how Touma had gently placed it in her hair, and shyly added, “Actually, T-Touma gave it to me as a present! He bought it with the other gifts when I wasn’t looking.”

Now that Saten was able to take a closer look, she saw that it was a lightning bolt with the letter M on it. She grinned and said in a teasing tone, “Wow, that’s a really personalized present! I guess he did more than just thank you, huh?”

Uiharu then added, “Yeah, you’re so lucky to get such a thoughtful gift from him, Misaka-san! He must really like you!”

Mikoto waved her off, “I’m not sure about that. He did tell me that he saw it and thought it suited me, but I don’t think it was a big deal for him.”

Kuroko had the hardest time seeing the hair clip since she was sitting right next to the girl, but once she finally got a good look, her eyes widened, _“I hate to admit it, but that filthy troglodyte has pretty good taste.”_ She then snidely asked, “So, are you going to keep wearing that trinket?”

Her roommate rolled her eyes at her petulance and then smirked, “Of course, after all, it would be rude not to use such a thoughtful gift! I actually really like it, so I think I’ll keep wearing it along with my normal one!”

Kuroko pouted and whined, “Onee-sama, how come you never apply that principle to any of my wonderful gifts?”

Mikoto quickly retorted, “That’s because all your gifts are perverted.” Kuroko’s “gifts” tended to be things like lingerie and aphrodisiacs, which she always promptly got rid of.

Kuroko then clung to Mikoto’s arm and cried, “Onee-sama, I just wanted to show you the extent of my love!” She proceeded to rub her head against the other girl’s shoulder.

Mikoto angrily pushed her away and replied, “Well, I don’t want it! Get off of me, you pervert!” Once she managed to stop Kuroko from invading her personal space, she crossed her arms and sighed in exasperation.

The atmosphere was awkward for a few moments as Saten and Uiharu watched the others’ usual antics play out. Fortunately, the waitress soon came over to deliver their food, and they were able to begin eating.

Saten then restarted the conversation with a new topic, “Hey Misaka-san, are you going to confess to him soon?”

Mikoto’s cheeks reddened, and she nervously played with her fingers while stammering, “C-confess to T-Touma? I don’t know if I’m ready for that.” It had been hard enough for her to be honest about wanting to spend time with Touma, so the girl could hardly imagine working up the courage to confess her feelings to him.

Uiharu then asked, “But why not? Do you think he’ll reject you? You two seemed pretty close at lunch, and he gave you that nice gift!.” 

Mikoto looked down and frowned, “Yeah, I don’t really know. We’ve gotten a lot closer, but he probably just sees it as becoming close friends.” After all, he didn’t see any issue with buying necklaces for her sisters. She doubted that Touma even saw playing with her hair or hugging her as anything romantic.

Saten surmised, “Ah, so he’s pretty dense, huh? Do you think he noticed how you act shy around him sometimes?”

Mikoto shook her head, “Not really, I mean, he’s noticed that I’m sometimes quieter than usual, but I don’t think he’s figured out why. I don’t think he’ll get it unless I tell him directly. But honestly, a part of me is glad that he’s so dense.”

Uiharu asked, “Oh, why’s that?” She figured it would be frustrating for Mikoto’s romantic hints to go over his head.

Mikoto continued, “I’m pretty sure there are a lot of other girls who like him, so if he weren’t so dense, he probably would’ve gotten together with one of them already.” She knew that Misaka 10032 had tried making a move on him, and she guessed that the nun he was often with did too, but figured that Touma had never really gotten the message.

Saten nodded, “Yeah, you have a point there. But if there are a bunch of girls who also like him, then you should confess soon, or you might lose to someone who’s not as shy as you.”

Kuroko then suddenly began maliciously laughing and muttered, “Yes, when that clueless troglodyte insensitively breaks onee-sama’s heart, I will be in the perfect position to cheer her up and claim her for myself!”

Mikoto had heard her, so she gave her roommate a quick chop to the head and said, “Shut up, Kuroko!” As the other girl groaned and held her head in pain, she turned back to Saten and said, “Yeah, you have a point there. I don’t want to lose to another girl just because they confessed first. But I still don’t know whether he actually likes me back.”

Saten replied, “Yeah, you can’t know for sure beforehand, but I think you have a really good chance! From where I was sitting, he seemed very fond of you, Misaka-san! He might not realize it yet, but I bet that once you confess, he’ll think back about all the fun times you’ve had together and at least give you a chance! Just tell him honestly how much he means to you!”

Mikoto mused, _“Well, he has been really sweet to me all weekend. It’s possible he’s started to see me in a different light.”_ The girl blushed furiously as she imagined herself confessing to Touma and him agreeing to be her boyfriend. _“Maybe I do have a chance after all!”_

She then smiled and exclaimed, “You’re right, Saten-san! It’ll be really hard for me, but I’ll try to confess to that idiot soon!” 

Uiharu replied, “That’s the spirit, Misaka-san! You guys will make such an adorable couple!”

Kuroko had been silent since being shut down by Mikoto, and she had conflicting feelings about the idea of her confessing to Touma. On the one hand, if the boy accepted her confession, then they would become a couple and Kuroko would no longer have any chance of hooking up with Mikoto. On the other hand, she figured that, since he was such a dense idiot, he might inadvertently stomp on Mikoto's heart. " _ Then onee-sama will finally understand that that troglodyte, no, that all guys, are completely unsuitable for her! And I will finally get my chance!" _

Mikoto saw that her roommate had a creepy grin on her face, but decided to just ignore her. By this time, they had finished eating, so the four of them were soon ready to leave. 

Since it was almost curfew, Mikoto and Kuroko split up from Saten and Uiharu to return to their Tokiwadai dorm. While Kuroko was still muttering crazy things to herself, Mikoto began to think of how to confess to the boy she had fallen for. Saten had given her some pretty good advice, and she hoped she would be able to put it to use.

* * *

  
  


The following day, Touma and his classmates were eating at their desks during lunch break. Fukiyose had noticed that the boy had been in a relatively good mood that morning, not complaining too much about his misfortune. She was curious about the cause, so she said to him, “Hey, Kamijou, you seem to be in a pretty good mood today!”

The boy was a bit confused and asked, “Huh, what do you mean, Fukiyose?” Although he wasn’t as tired and resigned as he usually was, Touma didn’t think he was in a particularly positive mood either.

The girl rolled her eyes, “Come on Kamijou, you’ve hardly blamed your luck at all today, and you don’t look like you’ve given up on life. Have you finally figured out that it’s better to have a more positive attitude?”

Touma sighed, _“There she goes again.”_ She had never really believed that Touma had bad luck, and instead thought that he just used it as a way of evading responsibility. Nevertheless, this time, she was correct in her observations. After a moment of thought, he replied, “Well, I had a pretty good weekend, I guess? Not too much bad luck!”

Himegami then asked, “Oh, what did you do this weekend?” She’d been silently paying attention to the conversation, but she was now curious about what the boy had been up to the previous days.

Touma was a bit startled by her voice, “Oh hey, Himegami, I didn’t realize you were here too.”

The girl sighed despondently, _“What else is new.”_ She replied, “I’ve been here the whole time, Kamijou.” 

The boy nervously rubbed his head, “Sorry, Himegami. Anyway, I had a pretty relaxing weekend hanging out with Biri-Biri.”

Fukiyose was confused, since she had no idea what he meant by “Biri-Biri.” She asked, “Biri-Biri? Is that someone’s name?”

Touma chuckled, “Oh no, sorry, that’s just a nickname I call a friend of mine, since she’s an Electromaster.” 

Himegami observed, “A girl? I see you’ve collected another one. Your life really is like a galge game.” She had no doubt that his friend was yet another girl who’d fallen for him.

Fukiyose’s eyes narrowed, and she questioned, “Who exactly is this Electromaster friend of yours? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with someone like that.” Their high school did have a few Electromasters, but none in their class, and she rarely saw the boy interact with anyone outside their class.

Touma was a bit fearful of his classmate’s expression. _“For some reason, I feel like I’ll get in trouble if I reveal that I’m friends with Mikoto.”_ As a result, he answered, “Oh, she goes to another school, so I don’t think you know her.”

Fukiyose remained a bit suspicious, but figured he was probably right, since she didn’t really know any students outside of her school. She then said, “Oh, okay. So what did you guys do?”

The boy shrugged, “Well, on Saturday, we had lunch and just relaxed in a park for a while. And yesterday, I went shopping with her, and we had lunch with her friends.” Touma carefully avoided referencing Mikoto’s sisters, but otherwise gave an accurate recounting of his weekend with her.

At this point, Tsuchimikado entered the conversation, “Wow, looks like Kami-yan added another member to his harem!” In fact, he knew by the nickname that Touma was talking about Mikoto, and he had pretty extensive knowledge about the relationship between the two of them. He didn’t want to reveal this though, so he pretended not to know who the boy was talking about.

Touma glared at his friend and protested, “For the last time, Tsuchimikado, I don’t have a harem!”

Aogami began to chime in as well, “Yeah right, Kami-yan. So what type of girl is she? Perhaps a kuudere military girl? Or maybe a tsundere middle school girl? Or even a cute deredere loli?”

_“What’s with those suspiciously specific guesses? He’s pretty close with the second one, though.”_ Touma was becoming increasingly exasperated with his friends misinterpreting everything, and replied, “Not you too, Aogami! You guys are taking this way out of proportion! And she’s not a loli!”

Fukiyose then said, “Well, these two idiots are being as perverted as usual, but it sounds like you’re pretty close to this girl if you spent the whole weekend with her.” She knew that Touma didn’t hang out with his classmates that often outside of school, so it seemed a bit strange that he spent so much time hanging out with a friend from another school.

The boy nervously chuckled, “Well, it wasn’t the whole weekend, but you’re right about us being pretty close. We’ve been though a lot together.” If he was being honest, Mikoto was probably one of his closest friends.

Fukiyose hadn’t expected the boy to just openly admit it. She began to wonder whether there was something going on between Touma and this friend of his. _“That would be unfortunate for Himegami, since she really likes Kamijou.”_ Wanting some more information, she decided to directly ask him, “Hey Kamijou, are you going out with this girl?”

Touma’s eyes widened, and he immediately replied, “No no, we’re just friends! Honestly, she’d probably get pretty mad if you suggested that in front of her.”

Aogami nodded sagely, “I see, so she’s a tsundere who denies her true feelings for you! Congratulations, Kami-yan!”

Touma rolled his eyes, “Stop kidding around, Aogami. There’s no way that’s true, she’s way out of my league.” 

Tsuchimikado smirked and countered, “Don’t be silly, there’s no way this friend of yours could resist the Kami-yan disease!”

The boy placed his head in his hands and loudly groaned. His friends Tsuchimikado and Aogami thought he had some sort of “disease” that attracted girls to him, but pretty much all the girls in his life saw him as an irresponsible idiot, so that made absolutely no sense.

Touma had gotten tired of countering all his classmates’ assumptions, so he decided to just finish his lunch without engaging any further. Fortunately, he was soon saved from further annoying conversations by the end of the lunch period.

* * *

As Touma was walking home from school, he thought about his conversation with his classmates from earlier. _“I can’t believe they thought that Biri-Biri and I were dating. What a crazy idea!”_ Like he told his classmates, the boy was sure that Mikoto would get mad at anyone who suggested the idea, even as a joke.

He chuckled to himself, _“Besides, she’s not really my type anyways. She’s definitely cute, but I’m not that into younger girls, and she can be pretty hot-tempered at times.”_ Touma hadn’t ever really thought of Mikoto in a romantic light, even when they went on their fake date just over a month ago. However, his classmates’ teasing was now causing him to think about her in a new light.

Touma then thought about his weekend with her and frowned, _“I guess I’m being a little unfair to her. Mikoto definitely has a sweet and caring side to her too! She’s very kind and devoted to her little sisters. Her hugs are really warm and cozy, and she even gives really good lap pillows! She’d actually be a pretty good girlfriend for some lucky guy.”_ Mikoto was certainly capable of being affectionate, despite her tomboyish personality. And if she was already this affectionate with him and her sisters, he bet that she’d be even more so with an actual boyfriend.

The boy thought again about her temper, _“And it’s not like she gets angry for no reason, I’ve just sometimes been too stupid to realize why she’s mad. She’s started to get better at controlling her temper too, though she definitely wouldn’t let anyone push her around.”_

Touma started blushing a little as he mused about what it would be like to have Mikoto as his girlfriend. _“It would be pretty fun cuddling and doing other things with her. She’d probably have some unusual ideas for dates, though with my luck, we’d get interrupted by trouble pretty often.”_ He figured that they’d probably have to cut a lot of their dates short to get into fights.

He continued fantasizing, “ _Maybe she’d even cook for me once in a while. It would be really nice if I could get homemade meals from a girl. Apparently she did bake me those homemade cookies, I really wish I could’ve gotten to try them. They might have been a little burnt, but she worked hard on them, and I’m sure they would have tasted good anyway. Plus, I bet it would’ve made her really happy!”_

Touma was smiling while having these thoughts, but he then tried to pull himself out of his fantasies, _“Yeah right, like any of that’s going to happen. There’s no way that a great girl like Biri-Biri would ever go out with a misfortunate boy like me. I’m already lucky enough to have her as a close friend!”_ The boy continued walking home, pretty sure that his idle musings would end up coming to nothing. 


	11. Memories

During the night a few days after she last saw Touma, Mikoto was lying in bed, deep in thought. She’d just come across a startling revelation by accident, and hadn’t been able to completely digest it yet. Earlier that night, the boy had called her from Avignon, France, asking if the news in Academy City was covering the religious protests there. However, after she answered his question, the boy had gotten into some sort of fight and had dropped his phone. Mikoto had stayed on the phone and listened to the fight between Touma and some girl named Itsuwa on one side and some man named Terra on the other side.

Mikoto hadn’t been able to understand much of what was going on, though she had heard the man say the words “precedence,” “higher,” and “lower,” over and over again. More importantly, she had also overheard him claim that Touma had lost his memory, and the boy had basically confirmed it with his silence. Ever since then, the girl had been trying to figure out when exactly it happened. _“Ever since he fought Accelerator to save my sisters, it didn’t seem like anything was off. Except for that first time by the vending machine, he never looked surprised when he saw any of my sisters, so he probably lost his memory before then. But how far back from then? Was it a few months before that, before we first met, or was it later?”_

The girl then frowned and wondered, _“Has he told anyone about his amnesia? Why didn’t he tell me?”_ After a moment, she sighed, _“Well, it’s not like we’re close friends, even if we have been getting closer lately. I bet he didn’t want to tell anyone about it, since he doesn’t like accepting help from others.”_ Mikoto wished that Touma would have told her about his memory loss, but if it had happened before or barely after they first met, it might not have been that relevant anyway.

In any case, Mikoto resolved to confront the boy about his amnesia and to get the details from him. At the very least, she felt that she needed to let him know that she’d found out about a big secret of his. The girl was a bit nervous about telling him, but she hoped that it might get him to open up a bit more to her. _“If I can get him to talk to me about it, maybe I can help him out by being someone he can confide in.”_

She was also curious about why Touma was fighting all the way over in France. _“Did it have something to do with those religious protests? There was also that invasion back on September 30 by Roman Catholic forces, so maybe these are all connected? I’m not sure about them having their own psychic powers, but if Touma was involved, his ability must work on them, right?”_ It seemed that something big was happening on an international scale, and it was potentially threatening Academy City as well.

* * *

  
  


The next day, Mikoto was at the usual vending machine, and had just finished a drink that she’d procured. She then glanced at the nearby path and saw that Touma was walking along it. She clenched her fist and smirked, _“All right, here’s my chance!”_ She quickly ran towards him and exclaimed, “Hey, Touma!”

Touma smiled at the girl, “Hey, Biri-Biri, what’s up?” He was happy to see her again, but he noticed that she looked pretty serious about something.

Mikoto explained, “There’s something really important I need to talk to you about!” She hoped he was free at the moment, since this discussion would probably take quite some time.

The boy hesitantly replied, “Um, okay, what is it?” He wasn’t quite sure what the girl was referring to. _“Is it about that phone call that got interrupted by our fight with Terra? Why would she be so concerned about that?”_ Touma thought that the call was cut as soon as his phone was knocked to the ground, so he didn’t think there was much to explain. 

Mikoto quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him towards a nearby bench, where they sat down right next to each other. After a few moments to gather her thoughts, she began, “So, do you remember when you called me yesterday from Avignon?”

Touma nodded, “Yeah, sorry about that, I accidentally dropped my phone when I got into a fight, so that’s why the call was cut.”

The girl shook her head, “No, that’s the thing, the call actually wasn’t cut. I was able to overhear your entire fight against that guy.” She then paused for a moment before adding, “Including the part about you losing your memory.” She figured it was best to get straight to the point, so she brought it up immediately.

The boy was absolutely shocked, _“She overheard all of that? This is really bad, I’ve been trying to avoid telling anyone.”_ He nervously rubbed his head and said, “Oh, you found out about that, huh?”

Mikoto was glad that he didn’t try to deny it, but she was a bit unsure of how to continue. She remained silent for a few seconds and then gently asked, “So, when did it happen?”

Touma replied, “The first thing I remember is waking up in a hospital bed on the morning of July 28. I was told that somehow my brain cells had been physically destroyed, so there was no chance of me getting my memories back, even with the help of mental espers.”

Thinking about that date, Mikoto determined, _“So it happened after we first met, but before he got involved with saving my sisters.”_ Putting aside that information for the moment, the girl wondered, “Your brain cells were physically destroyed? How on earth did that even happen?”

The boy frowned, “Well, that’s the thing, I literally don’t remember what happened before that day. What I do know is that I was previously fighting to save Index, so I guess it somehow happened as a result of that fight.” Touma wanted to avoid mentioning magic, and it helped that he really didn’t remember what had happened during his fight to save Index.

Mikoto mused, _“So, he lost his memories while saving that nun, huh? Well, he’d definitely take that trade any day.”_ Ever since she’d first met Index during that incident in the underground mall, the girl had wondered what her relationship to Touma was. Seeing a chance to learn more about a potential rival, she asked, “Is that how you first got involved with that nun? I see you two together pretty often.”

Touma was a bit worried about revealing the truth of his relationship with Index, but Mikoto seemed to be in a relatively good mood, so he answered, “Yeah, her church decided that I should be her guardian, so she’s kind of staying with me now.”

The girl was stunned by this revelation, “Wait, she lives with you?” This was such an unbelievable piece of information, so Mikoto wanted to make absolutely sure she understood him correctly.

The boy nervously replied, “Yeah, she does. She’s a pretty troublesome roommate, you wouldn’t believe how much she eats, and I have to pay for all of it!”

Mikoto barely comprehended anything after his first three words. _“Have I lost without even having a chance?”_ If Touma and Index had been living together since July 28, for over two months, the girl figured that they might be pretty close. However, she then remembered her previous conversation with him, _“Hold on, the other day he was sure that no girl would ever fall for him, so he can’t be dating that nun, right? But if they’re sharing a room, then things could happen by accident.”_

Her eyes widened as she realized that Touma’s dorm, being a single dorm, should only have one bed. She then nervously asked, “You two don’t sh-share a bed or anything, right?”

The boy’s eyes widened, and he waved his hands in front of him, “No, no, absolutely not! She does sleep in my bed, but I sleep in the bathtub! Why on earth would you think that?” Touma had expected her to be skeptical of him living with a girl, but that question completely surprised him.

Mikoto blushed, _“Oh boy, why did I ask that embarrassing question? Of course they don’t share a bed!”_ She stammered, “S-sorry, it’s just that you living with a girl is very suspicious.”

Touma sighed, “Yeah, you have a point there. Please don’t ever say something like that in front of her, or she’ll bite my head even more than she does already!”

The girl replied, “Yeah, sure.” She guessed, _“Okay, I’m pretty sure that nun likes him, but she obviously hasn’t told him. She does have a big advantage, though, since she gets to be with him every day.”_ Mikoto realized that if she waited too long, Index might finally confess to him, and she couldn’t completely rule out the possibility of him accepting it, even if it seemed unlikely. 

She then asked the boy, “Does that nun or anyone else know about your memory loss?” 

Touma nervously rubbed his head and answered, “As far as I know, the only ones who know about it are you and my doctor, Heaven Canceller. He told Index about me losing my memories, but when she came to see me, I told her that my Imagine Breaker negated the damage to my brain.”

Mikoto raised her eyebrows and replied, “Wait, so you lied to her?” 

The boy hastily defended himself, “She looked like she was about to cry! I didn’t want her to think that I had forgotten about her after everything that happened!”

The girl groaned, “You really are an idiot, aren’t you. She’s probably going to find out one day, you know And that’s if she hasn’t figured it out already.” With them spending so much time together, Mikoto would be surprised if he had actually managed to keep it a secret. A part of her wanted to berate him further for deceiving Index, but Mikoto knew she hadn’t been completely honest with her friends either, so it would be a bit hypocritical.

Touma chuckled, “Yeah, maybe. I guess I’ll just deal with the fallout when it happens.” After a pause, he frowned and revealed, “You know, for a while, I felt like an imposter. The previous Kamijou Touma had saved Index and died that night, and it was like I was stealing her gratitude from him. I’ve mostly come to terms with it by now, but it still crosses my mind from time to time.”

Mikoto wasn’t sure how to respond to that. _“Is this what he had to deal with all this time?”_ She wanted to try comforting him, so she gently grabbed his right hand and started stroking circles with her thumb. She smiled at him and softly said, “You’re not a different person, you know. Take it from someone who knew you before then, you’re still the same idiot who’ll recklessly meddle in a situation to save someone.”

Touma smiled upon hearing her comforting words, and said, “Oh yeah, we did know each other before I lost my memories, didn’t we? I’m really sorry Mikoto, but I don’t remember how we first met.” He felt really bad about forgetting their first meeting.

The girl shrugged, “It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” She was really sad that he didn’t remember meeting her, but at least he did remember their most significant times together.

The boy turned to her and requested, “Could you tell me about how we met? Did we know each other well before I lost my memories?” Touma was curious about their prior relationship, and hoped to get a better idea of his past.

Mikoto grinned, “Sure! I think it was sometime in the middle of June when we first met. It was dark outside and I was surrounded by thugs who were hitting on me. I watched a bunch of people walk by pretending not to notice, and I remember thinking that only an idiot would try to intervene to help a stranger. Of course, that’s when you show up!”

Touma replied, “Oh, so that’s how we met? I guess that’s not too unusual for me. So what happened after that?”

The girl continued, “You tried pretending to be my friend to get me out of there, but I didn’t really need your help, so I didn’t go along with your plan. You then told the thugs that they shouldn’t be hitting on me because I was just a kid, and I got pissed off and shocked everyone. But somehow, you didn’t have a single scratch on you!”

The boy sighed, “So, I tried to help you out, and you went all biri-biri on me. Why am I not surprised?” 

Mikoto countered, “I wasn’t mad about you trying to help me, it was the completely unnecessary insult!”

Touma replied, “Okay, I probably shouldn’t have done that, but it still seems like an overreaction.”

The girl rolled her eyes, “Whatever, it didn’t matter, since you didn’t end up getting hurt at all. Anyway, I was really confused why my attack didn’t work on you, so I kept trying, and you kept blocking them. I then chased you for a while, but you got away from me.”

The boy chuckled, “Wow, that was some first meeting! But why did you keep chasing me? Were you that annoyed that I was able to block your attacks?”

Mikoto blushed and looked down, feeling pretty embarrassed. She answered, “Well, I felt like my pride as a Level 5 was on the line, especially since you were claiming to be a Level 0. I worked really hard to develop my powers since I was a little girl, so you negating it so easily got under my skin.”

Touma took a moment before replying, “I guess I can see where you’re coming from. You said I got away after that, right? Did we run into each other after that?”

The girl chuckled and answered, “Yeah, I tried to get you to fight me every time I ran into you, but you usually negated everything I tried and ran away. There was one time you agreed to fight me, but you pretended to lose, which really pissed me off. You never seemed to take me seriously.” Mikoto was never able to beat him in a fight, though now that she knew he could even beat Accelerator, she’d come to accept how strong he really was.

The boy wondered, _“Exactly how many times did she try to fight me? It seems like she was pretty determined. Did it mean that much to her?”_ He smiled at her and replied, “Well, I was probably just trying not to get hurt. And I’m relieved that I wasn’t the one starting fights with a middle school girl.”

Mikoto sighed and replied, “Yeah, I know you weren’t deliberately trying to mock me or anything. Oh yeah, there was that time in mid-July when you saved me, Uiharu-san, and a little girl from a graviton explosion when I was unable to fire my railgun in time.” That had been a pretty scary moment, since she had accidentally dropped her coin right as the blast was going off. It had only been Touma’s intervention that had saved them all.

Touma said, “Graviton explosion? I think I remember hearing about them in the news.”

The girl nodded, “Yeah, there was this guy who used gravitons to make bombs and target Judgement officers. Thankfully, I was able to catch him after that. Everyone thought it was me who saved them, and when I asked if you wanted to take credit as a hero, you said it didn’t matter as long as everyone was safe.”

The boy replied, “Well, it doesn’t matter, right? It was nice of you to try to give the proper credit, but I don’t really care about being praised as a hero. I guess the past me really wasn’t that different.”

Mikoto squeezed his hand and said, “That’s right, I didn’t know you that well back then, but I can still tell that you’re still fundamentally the same at heart.” After a moment of comfortable silence, she added, “So I guess that time at the vending machine where you first met one of my sisters was also when you first remember meeting me?”

Touma laughed and replied, “Yeah, I suspected that we knew each other when you talked to me so casually, but I was fully convinced when I realized I had the muscle memory to block your electric shock.”

The girl replied, “Yeah, I thought you were still the same as always, and I didn’t notice that you’d forgotten about me.” After a pause, she continued, “You know, I was actually really happy to see you that day.”

The boy questioned, “You were?”

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, I thought I had shut down the experiment after destroying the last facilities, so it felt nice to shoot the breeze with you after I went days barely eating or sleeping. But then that sister showed up and told me the experiments were still happening, and I just completely broke down.” That was Misaka 10031, the last sister who was murdered by Accelerator. She regretfully recalled, _“And I told her to go away when she was concerned about me. The next time I saw her was on a camera feed as she died.”_

Touma frowned, “I see, that’s why you seemed angry when she appeared. I ended up finding her body that night, and it was a horrifying scene. I called Anti-Skill, but all the evidence was cleaned up when they arrived. I thought maybe I’d hallucinated it, but 10032-chan and like a hundred other Misakas showed up and confirmed that Misaka 10031 was dead. After that, I went to your dorm to talk to you, found the documents, and found you on the bridge.”

The girl replied, “I see, so that’s how you got involved. Around that time, I was trying to destroy Tree Diagram, but it was apparently shot down in the early hours of July 28, and then I watched on a surveillance camera as Accelerator killed her.” Mikoto wondered if they could have saved Misaka 10031 if Touma had somehow gotten involved a bit earlier, but there wasn’t much point in agonizing about that anymore. Instead, she asked, “Since it was on the same date, do you know if whatever caused your memory loss is the reason Tree Diagram was shot down?”

Touma recalled what Stiyl and Kanzaki had said about what had happened that night. They didn’t know about his memory loss, so he hadn’t asked for a complete explanation, but they did say that Index’s John’s Pen Mode had shot a spell called Dragon’s Breath, which broke his teacher’s roof and shot up into space. It had produced feathers, one of which had landed on his head and erased his memories. Not wanting to go into detail about magic, he replied, “I think so, some of Index’s friends who were also involved said there was some sort of beam of light that shot up into space, so that could’ve destroyed the satellite.”

Mikoto smirked, “Well, if that’s true, then it randomly ended up having a good side effect.” Without the Tree Diagram, there was a much lower chance of the researchers trying to restart the experiment after Accelerator’s defeat, especially since it was planned to fail eventually.

The boy chuckled, “Yeah, I guess so.” He was glad that something good was able to come out of the event that had destroyed his memories, in addition to saving Index.

After a few moments, Mikoto smiled at him and said, “So, even though, in your view, you just met me that day, you still decided to go out of your way to help me out. I should’ve said this a while ago, but thank you for saving me and my sisters!”

Touma blushed a little at her earnest words. After a pause, he squeezed her hand and replied, “Of course! Even if I didn’t remember you, I could tell that we were mostly friendly acquaintances, even if you were sometimes a little rude. After I found that body and they told me they were doing the experiment, I wondered whether you were willingly participating in it. I was so relieved when it turned out that the smiling girl I met for the first time again was trying her hardest to stop the experiment instead.”

Mikoto’s cheeks reddened as well. She looked down and softly said, “I’m surprised you had such a good first impression of me. The previous you probably thought I was just an annoying pest.”

The boy frowned, not wanting her to feel so down on herself. But since his past self was gone, he couldn’t really refute her impression. Instead, he brought up his free left hand and started stroking her hair, replying, “Maybe I did, but I probably didn’t consider your feelings back then. And no matter what happened between us back then, I still met someone who’s now a close friend, so I have no regrets. So don’t be too hard on yourself, okay Biri-Biri?”

The girl closed her eyes, enjoying his comforting touch, and shyly replied, “O-okay.” After a while, she opened her eyes and asked him, “So, are you really okay with forgetting everything before July 28? That’s a huge part of your identity.”

Touma answered, “Well, I’ve slowly come to terms with it. And even if the previous Kamijou Touma is gone from my mind, if you’re right about me still having the same ideals, then 

I think a part of him still lives on in my heart, guiding me.” As he said this, he removed his left hand from her hair and placed it over his heart.

Mikoto grinned, “That’s right! You’re not the type of guy who’ll let something like this stop you from helping people!”

The boy smiled back at her, “Thanks for talking to me about this, Mikoto! I’m actually relieved to finally get this off my chest!”

Mikoto squeezed his hand and nodded, “Of course! And I’ll be there if you ever need some help or someone to talk to. You don’t have to handle everything on your own.” She knew that, just like her, Touma liked to deal with problems on his own without involving his friends, but the girl hoped that Touma would turn to her more often.

Touma replied, “All right, you’ve got a deal!” When Mikoto had suddenly revealed that she had found out about his memory loss, Touma had somewhat dreading the upcoming conversation. But in the end, he was glad to be able to confide in the girl, and felt that they had just formed a closer bond.


	12. Confession

After discussing the boy’s memory loss, Mikoto and Touma remained silent for a few moments. Touma turned to the girl and asked, “Hey, could you please keep my memory loss a secret?” Although Mikoto finding out hadn’t been that bad, the boy still wanted to avoid worrying anyone else with his problems.

Mikoto caressed his hand and softly replied, “Yeah, sure, I promise not to tell anyone. But maybe you should consider telling that nun, at least?” It did feel nice for her to be the only one who knew this secret of his, but the girl wondered whether it was right for him to keep his friends and family in the dark.

Touma sighed, “Well, I’ve kept it from her for this long, and I still don’t want to make her feel bad by telling her. But I’ll think about it.” He knew that Index would get really mad at him initially if he told her the truth, but afterwards, she would probably be devastated that the boy that saved her was gone. He then continued, “Oh man, I still can’t believe you overheard all that. Now that I think about it, it is a little embarrassing.”

The girl chuckled and muttered, “That’s not even the most embarrassing thing I’ve overheard from you.” 

The boy had in fact heard her, so he turned to her and asked, “Wait, what? What else have you overheard?” Touma thought back to the fight against Terra and tried to figure out if there was anything else embarrassing that someone said that could have been overheard by Mikoto.

Mikoto’s cheeks reddened as she realized she hadn’t been as quiet as she’d thought. She briefly considered brushing it off, but instead she nervously answered, “O-oh, it was the day we went on that fake d-date. I overheard your promise to that guy to protect m-me and my world.”

Touma started blushing as well and replied, “Yeah, that’s also pretty embarrassing. So I guess you were listening back then after all.”

The girl’s eyes widened, “You knew I was there?” This was pretty surprising to her, since she had thought he was only talking to that fake Unabara. But if Touma had known she was listening as well, the meaning of his promise might have been different from what she’d thought.

The boy chuckled, “Well, I saw some sparks around those steel beams, so I figured that you were nearly and using your magnetism to control them. But I wasn’t sure if you were close enough to hear or not.”

Mikoto thought,  _ “Okay, so he didn’t think I was listening when he made that promise.”  _ She smirked at the boy and said, “I see, well, what you said was potentially very misleading, but don’t worry, I knew not to take it the wrong way.”

Touma was a bit confused, so he replied, “What do you mean, misleading? I said that I would protect you and the world around you. That’s a pretty straightforward promise.”

The girl retorted, “Yeah, but you’re the kind of guy who would make a promise like that without thinking. If he had asked you to make that promise for any other girl, you probably would’ve said exactly the same thing.” She then turned away and looked down with a sad smile, “It’s not like I’m special to you or anything.”

The boy felt a pang in his chest as he heard her last statement.  _ “Does she really think that?”  _ After a bit of thought, he decided to take a somewhat drastic step. He let go of her hand and wrapped his right arm around Mikoto’s waist, gently pulling her towards him.

Mikoto immediately became flustered and protested, “H-hey, what are you doing?”

Touma gave her a reassuring smile and replied, “Just come a bit closer, okay?” He continued pulling on the girl as he said this.

She still wasn’t sure what he was planning, but Mikoto shyly said, “O-okay.” The girl allowed herself to be pulled onto the boy’s lap, and she rotated her body so that she was sitting sideways, with her legs hanging off from his left side. Mikoto rested her head against his right shoulder, getting into a comfortable position, and waited for Touma to explain what was going on.

The boy kept hugging her waist with his right arm and brought up his left hand to gently stroke the girl’s hair. As he did so, he softly told her, “Of course you’re special to me, Biri-Biri!”

Mikoto’s eyes widened in surprise, and she stammered, “I-I am?” She hadn’t expected him to deny her statement so directly. 

Touma gave her a warm smile and hugged her a bit tighter, “Yeah, you are. We’ve been through a lot together, and I’d say you’re one of my closest friends. Why would you think otherwise?”

The girl was pretty happy that he considered her a close friend, but she replied, “Well, we are good friends now, but back when you made that promise, we weren’t that close, and you didn’t even remember most of the time we knew each other.” She hesitated for a moment and nervously continued, “W-was I special to you back then? Or was I just another girl you saved?”

_ “I guess she sort of has a point there, but does she really think I thought so little of her?”  _ He thought about how to reassure her and soon replied, “Well, you’re right that I didn’t know you as well back then. But I learned a lot about you in that short time I’d gotten to know you. I really admired how far you were willing to go to save your sisters, and I still do. But when you told me that you were going to throw your life away to try to save them, I hated that you thought that was your only choice. I had felt a connection between us when we met at the vending machine, and even though we were just acquaintances, I really didn’t want you to die. Even back then, you weren’t just a random girl to me.”

Mikoto suddenly started having a warm feeling in her heart, and she smiled at the boy. “Well, that is really nice to hear, and I do sort of get what you mean. You were just an acquaintance to me too, but after you decided to fight for me, I really didn’t want you to die either.”

Touma smiled back at her and continued, “Yeah, and you actually saved my life! It was thanks to you that Accelerator didn’t kill me with that plasma bomb! You risked your life to save mine, and as far as I know, you’re the only person who’s done that for me. So yes, you were pretty special to me, even back then!”

The girl blushed furiously, deeply touched by his words. She fidgeted with her fingers in her lap and modestly replied, “Th-thanks, but you’re exaggerating. It was my sisters who destroyed the plasma bomb, not me. I just came up with the idea. And you were only in danger in the first place because of me.”

The boy chuckled, “Maybe, but you came up with that great idea so quickly! I owe my life to both you and your sisters.” He gazed into her eyes and softly added, “I really hate seeing you put yourself down so much, Mikoto. You’re an amazing girl, and this misfortune boy is really lucky to have you in his life!”

Mikoto became even more embarrassed,  _ “That’s so unfair! How can he say such sweet things like that so easily?”  _ She felt so nervous about the thought of confessing to him and wished she could be as confident in letting out her honest feelings. The girl eventually replied, “Th-thanks.”

Touma ruffled her hair a final time and said, “Of course!” He then withdrew his hand from her hair and wrapped his left arm around the girl’s waist as well, pulling her into a full hug.

Now that there was a moment of silence, Mikoto wondered,  _ “Should I confess now? It seems like a pretty good moment, and he’s been really affectionate with me, so I might actually have a good chance!”  _ She played with her fingers as she gathered her courage, trying to think of the right words to say. Soon afterwards, she turned to him and said, “Hey T-Touma, there’s something I want to tell you.”

The boy looked back at her and softly replied, “Okay, what is it, Biri-Biri?” He had no idea of what she wanted to discuss, but Touma could tell that she was serious, so he resolved to listen carefully.

Mikoto began, “So I guess you don’t remember this anymore, but when we first met and I saw that you could negate my powers, I really wanted to fight you, because I’d never seen an ability like yours before and I wanted to face off against a strong opponent. Every time I ran into you, I tried to get you to fight me, but you always just negated all my attacks and ran away. It was really frustrating, but I was also very intrigued by you.” 

Touma was a bit confused and said, “Okay, I think you’ve told me all this already, right?” He wasn’t sure where she was going, but he could somehow tell that this was very important to her.

The girl chuckled, “Yeah, but I’m not done yet, you idiot! Anyway, things started changing that night when you found out about my sisters. I was so exhausted and depressed that night. I had barely eaten or slept for days, and nothing I tried could save my sisters. I was ready to die and told myself that there wouldn’t be a hero who would fix everything. But that’s when you showed up! You promised to fight Accelerator and create a happy ending where everyone was able to smile. And you actually did it! You saved my sisters, you saved me, and heck, you even saved Accelerator too!” Mikoto really wanted to convey how she’d been feeling that fateful night, both when she had lost all hope, and when Touma had arrived and given her back some hope.

The boy had been listening with a sympathetic ear, especially when Mikoto described how much she had struggled in those previous days.  _ “I know she didn’t tell any of her friends about it, so she must have felt so alone back then.”  _ He then became a bit embarrassed when she started praising him, and he replied, “Well, like I said before, I didn’t want you to die.”   
  
Mikoto smiled at him and replied, “Yeah, you did say that, didn’t you?” She then continued, “Anyway, after your fight with Accelerator, I was still blaming myself for the experiment, but you were able to say just the right words to cheer me up. And ever since then, I’ve been having these weird feelings.” 

Touma repeated, “Weird feelings?” He still wasn’t sure where exactly she was going with her speech, but he wondered what kind of feelings she was talking about.  _ “Maybe she has some conflicting feelings about her sisters or herself?” _

The girl knew that this was the moment of truth. She looked down and shyly explained, “Yeah, since then, I’ve started f-feeling differently about you. My heart would beat really fast when I saw or thought about you. I-I kept wanting you to pay more attention to me, and I kept feeling a little lonely when you weren’t around. When 10032-chan told me that I wasn’t being honest with myself, I at first didn’t know what she meant. But that night, I realized why I kept feeling this way. I realized that I had fallen for you.”

Touma’s eyes widened as it slowly dawned on him what she was saying. His cheeks reddened and he asked, “Wait, does that mean… ?” He trailed off, waiting for her answer.

Mikoto blushed and nodded against his shoulder, “Yes, I l-like you, T-Touma.” She looked down and continued, “And I know you probably never thought about me in that way and I’m not really your type, but w-will you go out with me?”

The boy’s heart started beating faster as she finished her confession. He used his left hand to grab onto one of Mikoto’s hands and began caressing it with his thumb. When the girl looked up at him, he gave her a warm smile and said, “You really do like me, huh? For some reason, hearing you say that makes me feel pretty happy.”

Mikoto had still worried about being rejected, so she was a bit surprised at his positive response. She looked up and nervously asked, “R-really?”

Touma squeezed her hand and answered, “Yeah, it does. You know, lately I’ve started thinking about you more often. I had a lot of fun spending time with you last weekend, and I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again. I never imagined that a great girl like you would ever be interested in me, but I guess I was wrong.” He then looked directly into her eyes and declared, “Yes, I’ll go out with you, Mikoto!” 

The girl’s eyes widened as she heard his answer, and she took a bit of time to process it all. But once she did, she broke into a grin and threw her arms around the boy, exclaiming, “Awesome, thanks!” She was ecstatic that Touma had actually agreed to date her, and all the anxiety was now leaving her heart.

Touma brought his hand back up and began playing with her hair again. As he watched the girl close her eyes and enjoy his pampering, the boy chuckled and mused, “So, you’ve liked me ever since we saved your sisters.” He thought back to when she was trying to give him the cookies, to when they went on their fake date, to during that incident involving magic at the Daihasei Festival, and to all their recent encounters, and continued, “Now that I look back, a lot of things suddenly make sense. Is that why you sometimes suddenly became quiet or acted weird around me?”

Mikoto’s cheeks reddened, knowing exactly what he was referring to. She replied, “Y-yeah, sometimes I get really nervous around you. It’s really frustrating sometimes. I was even too nervous to give you those cookies I made.”

The boy noticed her reddening face, which only gave further proof to her statement. He continued stroking her hair and teased, “That’s okay, Biri-Biri. Just so you know, I think you’re really cute when you get flustered and start stuttering.”

The girl stammered, “Y-you think I’m c-cute?” He had said her sisters were cute, but Mikoto had still been a little unsure if he thought the same way about her.

Touma answered, “Yeah, definitely! You’re also really cute when you’re smiling and happy, like when you were playing with that cat.” 

Mikoto replied, “Th-thanks. You’re pretty attractive too, especially when you have that serious face when you’re fighting someone.” 

The boy blushed a little and said, “Oh thanks, though I wish that didn’t happen so often for me.” He paused for a moment and continued, “Anyway, I really missed a lot of the signs, didn’t I? Now I understand why you got frustrated with me sometimes. I’m really sorry for not noticing, Mikoto.” He now realized that she had been pretty obvious about her feelings in retrospect.

The girl shook her head and retorted, “No no, it’s not your fault, I can’t really expect you to read my mind, right? Besides, I don’t think I would’ve wanted you to know before I was ready to tell you.” Mikoto had previously gotten annoyed at him when he unintentionally did or said something insensitive, but she now realized that it was a bit unfair of her to expect him to understand why he was hurting her feelings without actually telling him.

Touma nodded, “Yeah, you have a point there. Well, now that you’re my girlfriend, I’ll try to be more considerate from now on.” 

Mikoto’s eyes widened in surprise, and she repeated, “Your g-girlfriend?” She still hadn’t fully digested him accepting her confession, but her heart felt really warm at him calling her his girlfriend.

The boy smirked at her and said, “Yeah, we’re dating now, so we’re boyfriend and girlfriend, right? Or did you want to go on a few dates first before we make it official?”

The girl grinned back and replied, “Oh, I’m fine with making it official right now. Honestly, I’d have thought that you’d be the one to want to take it slow.”

Touma shrugged, “I don’t mind either way. We already know each other pretty well, so we have a good head start and don’t have to use the first few dates to get to know each other. And we technically went on a date already, even if it was fake.”

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, you’re right. That fake date was pretty fun while it lasted. Though hopefully we won’t get interrupted on our real dates.” 

The boy grinned, “With my misfortune, I’m not sure we can count on that.” Thinking back to that day, the boy asked, “Hey, I’m curious, why were you so freaked out about the hot dogs? Was it because we might have switched?” Touma had never figured out why she was so adamant about getting the right hot dog, since they were the same flavor.

The girl blushed and she remembered that embarrassing moment,  _ “Darn, I didn’t know he remembered that!”  _ She looked down to hide her face and answered, “B-because it could have been an indirect k-kiss.”

Touma raised an eyebrow, “An indirect kiss, really? I guess that’s a still big deal for middle school girls, huh?.” 

Mikoto replied, “Oh, shut up, I’m only a year younger than you! Besides, you were too much of an idiot to even notice the problem.”

The boy chuckled, “Well, you got me there, Biri-Biri.” He gave her a teasing grin and asked, “So, when you were checking the hot dogs, were you trying to pick your own, or did you really want to eat mine in order to get an indirect kiss?”

His question quickly flustered the girl, who protested, “W-what sort of question is that? Of course I was going for my own hot dog!” Mikoto knew that she had been way too embarrassed by the situation to purposely go for an indirect kiss.

Touma then recalled a similar situation, “Oh, what about that time you gave me your drink during the Daihasei Festival? You were acting pretty weird, so I bet you knew you were giving me an indirect kiss!”

Mikoto cringed,  _ “Oh man, why does he have such a good memory about things like this?”  _ She still tried to defend herself, “Hey, you were coughing pretty hard, and I f-felt bad since I was the one who dragged you along. It’s not like I wanted to force an indirect kiss on you!”

Touma ruffled her hair and grinned at her, “Haha, I know, Biri-Biri, you’re just so fun to tease! That was actually really sweet of you. Plus, you saved me from being bitten by Index when you grabbed me for the race, so it wasn’t that bad in the end. Anyway, I don’t think you need to be so embarrassed, it’s not like it’s a real kiss.”

_ “A real kiss?”  _ Mikoto perked up upon hearing those words. She wondered if this would be the right moment to take that step. She was very nervous, especially since this would be her first kiss, but she decided to go for it. She removed her arms from the boy’s back and placed them on his shoulders. 

Touma’s eyes widened as he felt the girl suddenly grip onto his shoulder. He noticed a serious expression on her face, as if she had just resolved to do something important. Soon afterwards, he saw her face leaning in towards him, and he said, “Mikoto?”

Mikoto didn’t give him a verbal reply. Instead, she just pressed her lips against his and began kissing him. The boy stiffened at first, but then relaxed and started kissing her back, closing his eyes as he did so. He moved his hand to the back of her head and gently supported it against his own. Mikoto closed her eyes too, and the pair continued for a few more seconds before separating.

The boy opened his eyes and gazed at Mikoto, who had an adorable blush on her face. He was a little flustered as well, but he gave her a sweet smile and said, “Wow, I wasn’t expecting that! But it was pretty good for a first kiss!”

The girl stammered, “Th-thanks, you’re a pretty good k-kisser.” She removed her hands from his shoulders and returned them to her lap.

Touma then asked her, “So, now that we got all that out of the way, is there anything else you want to do now?”

Mikoto fiddled with her fingers in her lap and softly requested, “C-can we just stay like this for a little longer?” She really enjoyed being in the boy’s arms and wanted to extend that experience for as long as possible.

The boy gently brushed his fingers through her hair and planted a kiss on her forehead, simply answering, “Of course, Biri-Biri, as long as you want!” He then wrapped his left arm around her waist again and hugged her a little tighter, letting Mikoto lean against his shoulder. She responded by wrapping her arms around his back again. Now, both of them sat silently, enjoying each other’s warm embrace and looking forward to their future as a couple.


	13. Announcing the News

It was now later in the evening, and Touma was returning home after saying goodbye to Mikoto. He had a wide grin on his face as he thought about what had just happened,  _ “Man, I still can’t believe Mikoto is now my girlfriend! She also found out about my memory loss, but talking about it with her made me feel a lot better about it.”  _ As he opened the door and entered his dorm, he actually felt pretty lucky for a moment, at least until he saw Index’s angry face.

Index was pretty annoyed because Touma had come home very late, due him spending such a long time with Mikoto. She angrily growled, “Touma, where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you for over an hour, and I’m really hungry!”

Touma immediately knew that he was in grave danger. He nervously grinned and answered, “Oh hey, Index. I ran into Mikoto on the way home, and she wanted to talk to me about something.”

Index narrowed her eyes and replied, “What did Short Hair want to talk about that took so long? And since when are you on a given name basis with her?” She knew that Touma had been spending a lot of time with Mikoto lately, and she was beginning to get very suspicious about what was going on between them.

The boy grimaced, wondering how much he should reveal.  _ “Well, I have to tell her eventually, so I might as well get the pain out of the way now.”  _ For some reason he didn’t quite understand, Index always got annoyed with him when he was around Mikoto, so he didn’t expect a good reaction to what he was about to say. Nevertheless, he answered, “Well, it sort of just happened recently. As for what she wanted to talk about, she actually confessed to me! That was actually pretty surprising, I had no idea she liked me.”

The girl was surprised, though not at the fact that Mikoto had feelings for Touma or that he had no idea. Those were both obvious. However, Index never expected that Mikoto would actually work up the courage to confess, given how she always denied any relationship with Touma. After a moment to gather her thoughts, Index said, “I see, so did you let her down gently? Even if it’s Short Hair, you should be delicate with a girl’s feelings, Touma!” The nun was sure that Touma had rejected Mikoto, since he would sometimes complain about her trying to shock him and since Mikoto always seemed pretty rude whenever Index saw her.

Touma tilted his head in confusion and replied, “Huh? What are you talking about? I accepted her confession, and now she’s my girlfriend.” He didn’t know why Index was so sure he’d rejected Mikoto.

Index staggered back in shock, unable to believe it. After a moment to compose herself, she pointedly asked, “Touma, why would you agree to go out with such a rude girl?”

_ “Geez, what is her problem?”  _ Touma retorted, “Hey, Biri-Biri might be a little hot-headed, but she’s actually a really sweet girl. Plus, she’s really cute too!” He didn’t like Index insulting Mikoto, especially now that he was that much closer to Mikoto.

Index started shaking in anger, unable to accept this new development. She felt betrayed by the boy. Touma had saved her, become her friend, and taken care of her for months, but suddenly he was ditching her for another girl. Index bared her fangs and growled, “So Touma, you think that Short Hair is sweeter and cuter than me? Prepare for your punishment!” She then jumped up and started biting his head.

Touma felt the familiar pain of one of Index’s assaults, though this time it hurt more than usual. “Ow, Index, get off of me! Mikoto doesn’t bite my head every day, so she’s way ahead of you on being sweet. And why are you comparing yourself to her anyway?” He knew this would only enrage her further, but Touma didn’t want to mince his words.

As he expected, Index only bit down harder, causing him to exclaim, “Oww, my rotten luck!” He tried desperately to pull her off him, but her grip was too tight, and Touma was forced to endure it until Index chose to release him.

Once she did so, Index turned away from him and crossed her arms, grumbling, “Touma, you’re such an insensitive jerk!” 

Touma started rubbing his head in an effort to alleviate the pain and questioned, “What do you mean, Index? I didn’t do anything to you before you started biting me!” The girl merely hmphed in reply and refused to talk to him, so he sighed, being forced to let the matter drop.

The boy then entered the kitchen to begin cooking dinner. He was still happy at the thought of having Mikoto as his girlfriend, but he realized he would have to do some work if he wanted Index to get along with her. 

* * *

Meanwhile, Mikoto decided to visit her friends at the Judgement office and was pretty excited to tell them about the big news. As she entered the office, she saw that Kuroko and Uiharu were taking a break, and so were seated on one of the couches. This left Mikoto to sit next to Saten on the other couch. She then greeted them, “Hey, guys!”

Saten turned to the new arrival, noticing that she seemed to be in a really good mood. She gave her friend a teasing grin and replied, “Hey, Misaka-san! You look really excited, did something perhaps happen with Kamijou-san?”

Mikoto blushed at the other girl’s teasing, but she smiled and answered, “Y-yeah, actually, something did happen. I took your advice and c-confessed to him today! And he agreed to go out with me!”

Saten broke into a grin and patted Mikoto’s shoulder, saying, “Great job! See, I told you it would all work out! Now you have the guy of your dreams!” Saten had encouraged Mikoto to take her chance with Touma before another girl did, and she was glad that it had worked out for her friend. 

Uiharu then gave Mikoto an excited smile and said, “That’s great, Misaka-san! You two will make a great couple!”

As expected, Kuroko had a completely different reaction to Mikoto’s news. She had known that her onee-sama was head over heels for that troglodyte, but even though Mikoto had resolved to confess her feelings to him, Kuroko had held on to the faint hope that he would somehow stomp on Mikoto’s heart, leaving the path wide open for her. Now that hope was completely extinguished. As a result, Kuroko’s heart dropped and she began to tear up.

Mikoto noticed that her roommate had tears in her eyes and looked absolutely crushed.  _ “Oh shoot, maybe I should’ve been a bit more sensitive.”  _ She reached out a hand and softly asked, “Hey Kuroko, are you all right?”

Kuroko looked up at Mikoto, wanting her to understand just how devastated she felt. She teleported herself into the other girl’s lap and grabbed onto Mikoto’s shoulders. Now starting to cry, she said, “Onee-sama! I’ve loyally stayed by your side ever since we first met. Why did I have to lose to a troglodyte just because he saved you a few times?”

Mikoto sighed at her roommate’s whining. She was pretty annoyed that Kuroko continued to disparage her now boyfriend, but she did understand that it was painful for her to get her heart broken. Trying to be nice, she patted Kuroko’s head and said, “I’m sorry, Kuroko. I know this is really hard for you. If there’s anything I can do to make you feel better, let me know.”

Kuroko immediately had a perverted expression on her face. She raised her hands and began creepily wiggling her fingers, saying, “Oh, onee-sama, it would make me feel a lot better if I could have you just once before you let that filthy boy defile your perfect body! Let me at least have your first kiss!” As she said this, she suddenly grabbed onto Mikoto’s breasts and puckered her lips, leaning in for a kiss.

Mikoto reacted quickly, shocking the girl and harshly pushing her onto the floor. She angrily exclaimed, “I should have known you would try to do something perverted! Geez, every time I try to have a nice moment with you, you twist it for your own depraved desires.” She then crossed her arms and looked away from Kuroko, muttering, “Besides, you’re too late to steal my first kiss anyway.”

Kuroko took some time to recover from the electrocution, and she slowly dragged herself to her original seat on the couch, rubbing her eyes and sniffling.

Meanwhile, Saten had overheard Mikoto. She said with a sly grin, “Oh, you’ve already had your first kiss with him? How bold of you, Misaka-san! How was it?”

Mikoto became very flustered and replied, “Y-yeah, I k-kissed him, and it was really nice.”

Uiharu’s cheeks began to redden as she imagined her friend making out with Touma. She gushed, “Wow, you even initiated the kiss! You’re so mature, Misaka-san!”

Kuroko started sobbing, “I’m too late, my onee-sama has already left me behind!” She buried her face in her hands, not wanting her friends to see her crying.

This caused an awkward silence to fall over the group. This pattern of behavior between Mikoto and Kuroko was unfortunately pretty normal, but this time it had a more serious weight behind it. 

In the end, it was Uiharu who found a way to change the subject. She turned to Mikoto and said, “Hey, Misaka-san, there’s something I wanted to ask you about.”

Mikoto replied, “What is it, Uiharu-san?” 

The girl asked, “You know how I got injured recently?” Indeed, Uiharu currently had her arm in a sling due to a very recent injury.

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, you said some suspicious guy was looking for a little girl you were watching over and stepped on your shoulder when you didn’t give him any information. And then some other guy came and saved you by fighting the first guy?”

Uiharu replied, “That’s right. I looked up who those two guys were in the Data Bank. It turns out that the guy who attacked me was the 2nd Ranked Level 5, Dark Matter.”

Mikoto’s eyes widened, “Dark Matter?” He was the other Level 5 who was ranked higher than her, and she shivered at the thought of what he could have done to her friend. It didn’t take her long to realize something. “Wait, does that mean that the person who saved you was…?”

Uiharu grimly nodded, “Yes, it was the 1st Ranked Level 5, Accelerator! But what I really wanted to ask you about was the little girl.”

Now that she knew Accelerator had been involved in that incident, Mikoto had a good guess as to who that little girl was. However, before she said anything, she decided to wait and see how much Uiharu knew.

Uiharu continued, “The strange thing was, the girl kept calling herself Misaka, and she looked a lot like a younger version of you. Misaka-san, could she have been a younger sister or other relative of yours?” 

Mikoto now knew that Uiharu had run into Last Order. She briefly wondered whether she could pass Last Order off as a coincidentally unrelated Misaka, but since Last Order looked exactly like a younger version of her, Mikoto figured it wouldn’t work. Instead, she nervously rubbed her neck and said, “Y-yeah, something like that.”

Saten was confused at this information, “Wait, Misaka-san, I thought you were an only child?” Mikoto hadn’t really denied that girl being her younger sister, but perhaps she was Mikoto’s cousin or something. 

By now, Kuroko had mostly stopped crying, and her mood became more serious as she listened to the conversation. After wiping away her tears, she then confirmed, “Yes, onee-sama has said she’s an only child many times, and even her mother said that as well. And I never heard onee-sama talk about any other relatives. Something fishy is going on here.”

Uiharu’s eyes widened as she made another realization, “Wait, since Accelerator was involved, does that little girl have something to do with that incident back in August and why you and Kamijou-san were fighting against him?”

Mikoto frantically tried to think of a way to explain away the connection that her friend had made, but she couldn’t find one. She still didn’t want to put her friends in danger by telling them the full story.  _ “But Uiharu-san already got into danger just by randomly helping Last Order. Now that they already know most of it, maybe it would be safer for them to know the full story?” _

In the end, she sighed and then replied, “Yeah, she was sort of involved in that. You know what, Uiharu-san already got hurt because of that incident, so maybe it’s time for you guys to know why we had to stop Accelerator.”

Saten was pretty surprised at her sudden change of mind, and asked, “Wait, are you finally going to tell us the full story of why you were missing back in August?”

Mikoto nodded, “Yes, but before I do that, there are some people involved that I’d really like you guys to meet, so could please you give me a couple of days to set it up? I promise I’ll tell you guys everything then.”

Uiharu smiled at her and said, “Sure, Misaka-san. It’ll be great to finally know about it.”

Kuroko frowned and replied, “I’m also curious to find out what was troubling you so much, and what you and that troglodyte have refused to reveal.”

Mikoto was a bit dismayed at Kuroko’s tone, but she figured that her best friend had a good reason to feel that way. In any case, she knew that telling them about her sisters and what had happened to them would be a somewhat traumatizing task, so she was glad to have some time to prepare. Hopefully, it would all turn okay well in the end. 

* * *

The next day, Mikoto visited the hospital to talk with Misaka 10032. Mikoto had told her sister that she wanted to talk to her about something, so they decided to go to the hospital’s courtyard for some fresh air. They sat on a bench and made sure nobody else was around before starting their conversation.

Mikoto began by asking, “So, how are you doing, 10032-chan?”

“Misaka’s life is still the same as usual, though she wishes she could go outside a little more often, answers Misaka, craving some stimulation.”

Mikoto replied, “Yeah, I know it’s hard being stuck in the hospital all day. But at least you can go outside sometimes.” She hoped that her sisters would someday be able to live freely in Academy City.

“Anyway, Big Sister, what did you want to talk with Misaka about, asks Misaka, curious about the reason for your visit.”

Mikoto looked down at her lap as she prepared herself to deliver the news. She smiled with a small blush on her cheeks and replied, “Well, I wanted to tell you some big news. Yesterday, I confessed to that idiot T-Touma and asked him out, and he actually said yes! So we’re a couple now.”

“Congratulations, Big Sister, says Misaka, despite being a little disappointed. It seems you decided to be more honest with him, observes Misaka.”

Mikoto chuckled, “Yeah, I guess I should thank you for telling me that I wasn’t being honest with myself. It was because of that that I realized I had feelings for him and decided to eventually confess to him.” 

“You’re welcome, replies Misaka, feeling a little bittersweet about you taking her advice.” 

Mikoto knew exactly why her sister was feeling bittersweet. She fidgeted with her fingers and said, “I’m sorry, 10032-chan, I know you like him too.” 

Misaka 10032 grabbed onto her sister’s hand and squeezed it. “It’s okay, Big Sister, reassures Misaka with a smile. It’s true that Misaka likes the boy, but if she had to lose, she’s glad that he chose you instead of some other girl.”

Mikoto’s eyes widened and she turned to face her sister, “Really?” She wasn’t expecting her to be quite as supportive as she was currently being.

“Of course! You’ve gone through so much to save us, so Misaka hopes that the boy will make you happy, because you deserve it, assures Misaka with complete sincerity. Though Misaka does hope that you’ll treat him kindly, adds Misaka, trying to look out for the boy.”

Mikoto was really touched by her sister’s words, especially since she didn’t throw in a teasing quip. Mikoto scooted a bit closer and pulled her sister into a hug, telling her, “Thank you, 10032-chan! And don’t worry, I promise to take good care of Touma!”

Misaka 10032 returned the hug, wrapping her arms around Mikoto. “Misaka is glad to hear that. He deserves to be happy too, says Misaka, recalling how much he’s suffered for all of us.”

Mikoto chuckled and agreed, “Yeah, that’s for sure.” After a bit longer, the two sisters separated from their hug.

“Oh, Big Sister, now that you’re dating the boy, is it still okay for Misaka to hang out with him, questions Misaka nervously, remembering how you lost your temper the previous time he spent time with her.”

Mikoto’s cheeks reddened in embarrassment as her sister brought up an incident she wasn’t proud of. She felt a pang in her heart hearing that her sister was afraid Mikoto wouldn’t let her hang out with Touma anymore. Mikoto faced her sister and answered, “Of course it’s okay. I got pretty jealous that time, but that’s no reason for me to break up your friendship with him. Just don’t get  _ too  _ clingy with him, okay?”

“All right, but how much is too clingy, asks Misaka for clarification. Is it fine for Misaka to hug him, further probes Misaka, enviously recalling how the other three Misakas did so already.”

Mikoto pondered her request for a few moments. Honestly, she knew she’d usually be very uncomfortable with another girl hugging Touma. But her sisters had a special bond with both her and the boy. Although she had felt a little jealous watching him embrace her sisters, she’d also found it a little sweet. In the end, she replied, “Yeah sure. After all, friends can hug each other, right? I do still want him and you guys to keep getting along.”

“Thank you, says Misaka, pleased that you’re becoming more mature and indulging your younger sister. Misaka promises that she won’t cross any boundaries in your relationship, assures Misaka.”

Mikoto smiled at her sister and said, “I’m glad to hear it!” 

“Misaka looks forward to having the boy as a brother-in-law, adds Misaka with a teasing smirk.”

Mikoto blushed furiously and stammered, “B-brother-in law? But we’d have to get m-married for that, it’s way too soon to think about that!”

“Oh, Misaka is going to enjoy teasing you about that boy, Big Sister, smugly says Misaka.”

Mikoto sighed, knowing that her sister wasn’t kidding. She then decided to bring up the other thing she wanted to talk about, “Hey, 10032-chan, you know about my friend Uiharu-san meeting Last Order a couple days ago, right?”

“Yes, that was when she bravely stood her ground against the 2nd Ranked Level 5, Dark Matter, before being saved by Accelerator, recalls Misaka, wondering where you’re going with this subject.”

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, so she noticed that Last Order called herself Misaka and looked a lot like me, so I had to admit that she’s a relative of mine. I haven’t fully told my friends about the experiment, but they figured out that Accelerator was involved, and Uiharu-san saw Last Order with Accelerator. Now my friends know that a relative I’m not supposed to have is connected with Accelerator, so I figured it might be time to finally introduce you to them and tell them the full story.”

“Misaka would be glad to meet your friends, especially since she has to avoid them whenever she goes outside, states Misaka. Misaka knows your friends are kind, but will they accept us, asks Misaka, a little worried about being ostracized.”

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, I’m sure they’ll accept you as my family. Saten-san and Uiharu-san are very friendly, so they definitely won’t have any problems with you.” She cringed and added, “Kuroko might be a bit of a problem though.”

“Isn’t she the pervert with a creepy obsession with you, Big Sister, asks Misaka, remembering all your complaints about her.”

Mikoto sighed, “Yeah, that’s her all right. Most of the time, she’s pretty serious and mature, but when she gets into a perverted mood, all bets are off. I’m not sure how she’ll react when she sees you guys. It’s possible she’ll try doing perverted things to you too.”

“Misaka does not want to be sexually harassed by that girl, firmly asserts Misaka. She is fine with meeting her as long as you and the boy are there to protect her, adds Misaka, making a request for her own safety.”

Mikoto made a determined face and replied, “Don’t worry, I’ll bring Touma along too, and we’ll make sure that Kuroko doesn’t do anything to you.” 

“In that case, Misaka is prepared to meet your friends, concludes Misaka. Misakas 10039, 13577, and 19090 are also looking forward to it, reports Misaka, having just consulted them.”

Mikoto smiled at her sister and said, “All right, I’ll set up a meeting soon.” Mikoto looked forward to finally telling her friends about her sisters, and not having to keep such a big secret from her friends anymore. She knew it would be difficult to talk about those traumatic events of August, but she also knew it would help her start to heal a little.

* * *

Later that same day, Touma was walking home, having just completed some grocery shopping. Along the way, he ran into a familiar brown-haired girl with a Tokiwadai uniform. Noticing her snowflake necklace, he exclaimed, “Hey, 19090-chan! What are you up to?”

“Oh h-hello, says Misaka, greeting the boy. Mi-Misaka decided to go on a walk to get some fresh air. Misaka has to stay in the hospital for most of the time, so she doesn’t get a lot of outdoor stimulation, further explains Misaka.”

Touma gave her a sympathetic smile, and said, “Yeah, it must be hard having to stay inside all the time. And you usually only go out one at a time, right?” 

“That’s right, it’s to avoid causing Big Sister problems if we’re seen in multiple different places at once, replies Misaka, explaining our restrictions.”

The boy nodded, “Yeah, that makes sense.” He could tell that it was a difficult situation for them, but he wasn’t sure if there was anything he could do to help.

“Misaka has just learned that you and Big Sister are a c-couple now, reports Misaka, relaying what Big Sister told Misaka 10032. Is that accurate, asks Misaka for confirmation.”

Touma blushed a little as Misaka 19090 mentioned his new relationship with Mikoto. He nervously rubbed his neck and answered, “Yeah, that’s right. So Biri-Biri told 10032-chan about it, huh?”

“Yes, Big Sister said that she finally c-confessed to you and asked you out, answers Misaka.”

The boy chuckled, “Yeah, I was actually really surprised when she did that, since I had no idea she liked me that much.” After a pause, he sighed and admitted, “You know, a part of me still can’t believe that a great girl like Mikoto is interested in me. I just hope I don’t disappoint her.”

“Mi-Misaka is sure that you won’t disappoint her, says Misaka, reassuring the boy. Big Sister has done so much for Misaka, so hopes that you’ll take care of her and make her happy, requests Misaka, looking out for her older sister.”

Touma grinned at her and said, “Of course, 19090-chan! I promise to take good care of Mikoto!” With all that Mikoto had been through, the boy was prepared to do anything he could to make her happy.

He then changed the subject, asking her, “So, what’s it like living in the hospital with your sisters? Do you guys do stuff with each other all day, or do you also do things on your own?”

“We do some things together and some things by ourselves, answers Misaka. For example, Misaka likes reading magazines by herself, but she also plays games and has lively discussions with the other Misakas.”

Touma replied, “Well, it’s good you get along with the others. I’m curious, since you can all read each other’s thoughts, isn’t it hard to play games against each other?”

“Your assumptions are mostly correct, replies Misaka. For example, whenever we play rock paper scissors to choose who has to buy food, each Misaka often ends up choosing the same option for multiple rounds in a row, explains Misaka. Or when we play card games, we all know which cards each Misaka is holding, adds Misaka, giving another example.”

The boy chuckled, “Yeah, that sounds pretty crazy. Aren’t you guys able to hide your thoughts from the others if you want, though?”

“That is correct, but us Misakas find it amusing to play our games this way, answers Misaka, justifying her decisions.”

Touma then asked, “Oh, and when you guys have your lively discussions, is it like arguing with yourself?”

“The frog-faced doctor had an interesting analogy for that, begins Misaka. He said that it is like a regular person internally arguing with themself. However, since we have multiple bodies, we can argue out loud with each other and even make different decisions, while a regular person who argues with themself on what decision to make can only make a single decision in the end, recounts Misaka.”

The boy thought a bit about the girl’s explanation, and eventually replied, “I see, that actually makes a lot of sense. It’s good that each of you can make your own decisions. After all, that’s what makes each of you an individual person.”

“Yes, each Misaka is working to develop her own personality, says Misaka, reporting on an ongoing development.”

Touma smiled at her, “Yeah, that’s good to hear! Anyway, I have to go home now, so I’ll see you around, 19090-chan!” He was already running a little late, so he wanted to return home soon to avoid Index’s wrath.

Misaka 19090 stepped towards the boy and wrapped her arms around him. “Mi-Misaka will see you later, says Misaka, giving you a goodbye hug.”

Touma returned her embrace, holding onto the girl for a few seconds. He wondered if it was okay for him to do this now that he was dating Mikoto, but he figured that it was just a friendly hug. After a few seconds, they both separated, and the boy told her, “All right, I’m off!” He then began walking back home, leaving Misaka 19090 to return to the hospital. 


	14. First Date

The final class had just ended at A Certain High School, so Touma and some of his classmates were hanging out in front of the school. He and Mikoto had planned to go on their first real date that afternoon, so he was waiting for her to pick him up.

Fukiyose asked, “Hey Kamijou, we were planning to go get some food somewhere. Do you want to join us?” Since the boy was often absent from school, he didn’t get too many chances to hang out with them outside of school, so Fukiyose wanted to seize this rare opportunity.

Touma was currently texting Mikoto, who told him that she’d be there soon. While still looking at his phone, he absent-mindedly answered, “Sorry Fukiyose, I have a date with Biri-Biri soon.”

This bombshell completely stunned Fukiyose and his other classmates. With the boy’s words not having fully sunk in, Fukiyose repeated, “A date?” After another pause, she added, “Wait, is this the girl you were gushing about the other day? I thought you said you weren’t going out with her?”

The boy looked up from his phone, now full realizing what he just said. He nervously rubbed his head and replied, “Oh yeah, it turned out that she actually liked me, and she asked me out a couple of days ago, so now we’re a couple.”

Tsuchimikado smirked at the boy and said, “See, I told you that that friend of yours was head over heels for you, Kami-yan!”

Aogami then added, “Yeah, congratulations on finally picking a girl from your harem, Kami-yan!”

Touma sighed and reluctantly conceded, “Okay, I’ll admit that you guys were right about her having feelings for me. But just because one girl likes me doesn’t mean I have a harem!”

Fukiyose knew that the conversation between the three boys would probably escalate into a fistfight if it continued, so she turned to Touma and exclaimed in a stern tone, “Kamijou!”

The boy quickly turned to her and said, “Yes?”

She narrowed her eyes at him and said, “Last time, you didn’t tell us who this girl was, except that she’s an Electromaster. Now that she’s your girlfriend, you better tell us more about her!”

Touma nervously gulped, knowing from her expression and tone that he wouldn’t get away with dodging the question this time. He replied, “Okay, what do you want to know?”

Fukiyose replied by asking, “Well, what school does she go to? And what’s her name?”

The boy knew that answering those questions would lead to an uncomfortable conversation, but he had no choice, so he replied, “Well, she goes to Tokiwadai, and her name is Misaka Mikoto.”

As soon as he said her name, everyone else present became frozen in shock, with their jaws agape. After a long pause, Fukiyose was finally able to pull herself together and ask, “You’re dating Misaka Mikoto, the Railgun, the Ace of Tokiwadai?”

Touma nervously smiled, “Um, yeah?” He knew that they would react like this, which is why he hadn’t told them her name the time.

By now, Tsuchimikado had recovered enough to exclaim, “Wow, looks like not even Level 5’s are immune to the Kami-yan disease!”

Aogami then joined in, “Great job, Kami-yan! Not only did you get the 3rd Ranked Level 5, but she even lets you call her Biri-Biri!”

Tsuchimikado then noted, “Well, now that he’s finally chosen a girl, all the other girls will be available for the rest of us guys!”

Aogami turned to Touma and asked, “Why didn’t you tell us that your friend was the famous Railgun?”

Touma had gotten annoyed at his friends’ comments and angrily answered, “Because I knew you guys would freak out, just like you’re doing now!”

Meanwhile, Fukiyoke was mostly ignoring the boys’ stupid comments and thinking about what Touma had said.  _ “There’s no way he’s dating the Railgun, is there? It makes absolutely no sense!”  _ She gave the boy an angry look and asked, “Kamijou, you’re not lying about Misaka Mikoto being your girlfriend, are you?”

The boy was pretty confused and replied, “No, it’s true! Why do you think I’m lying?”

Fukiyose crossed her arms and answered, “It’s really hard to believe that you even know her, let alone that you’re going out with her. Are you sure that you’re not just making this whole story up!”

_ “Is she serious?”  _ Touma was confused and slightly offended that his classmate thought he was making it up. He protested, “What? I’m not lying!” He then noticed that his girlfriend was approaching, so he pointed to her and said, “Look, there she is right now!”

Fukiyose turned to where Touma was pointing, and her eyes widened as she saw the girl in a Tokiwadai uniform. As someone who had passionately followed the events of the Daihasei Festival, Fukiyose knew without a doubt that this girl was indeed Misaka Mikoto, the Railgun.

Having arrived at Touma’s school, Mikoto was now indeed approaching the boy. She noticed that he was with what she assumed were his classmates. Once she was close enough, she waved at him with a smile and said, “Hey, Touma!”

Touma waved back at her and said, “Hey, Mikoto!” He was really glad to see her, in part because it meant he’d soon be able to get away from his nosy classmates.

Mikoto glanced at his classmates and immediately recognized one of them. She angrily pointed at Aogami and shouted, “Hey, what the hell are you doing here?!” She then turned to Touma and asked, “Touma, are you friends with this pervert?”

Touma sighed,  _ “Why am I not surprised?”  _ He replied, “Unfortunately, yes. What did he do this time?”

With a flustered face, Mikoto exclaimed, “He was distributing Indian Poker cards with perverted dreams of me and a bunch of other girls!” She began emitting sparks from her head.

Meanwhile, Aogami, who had already been electrocuted once by Mikoto, decided that he didn’t want to stick around, so he began running away, shouting back, “Bye, Kami-yan!” Tsuchimikado decided to follow him as well, not wanting to risk the wrath of Mikoto or Fukiyose.

Touma watched the other boys flee the scene with a grimace. He turned back to Mikoto and said, “Sorry about that. I assume you already punished him when you found out?”

Mikoto smirked and replied, “Yeah, I gave him a good shock and destroyed all the cards.”

The boy replied, “All right, so I guess you’ve already met Aogami, and the other guy was Tsuchimikado.”

The latter name was familiar to Mikoto, who replied, “Tsuchimikado? I know a maid with that family name.”

Touma nodded, “Oh, you know Maika? Yeah, that’s his step-sister. He lives next to me, so I’ve seen her around occasionally.”

Fukiyose now decided to introduce herself. She held out a hand to Mikoto and said, “Hello, I’m Fukiyose Seiri, it’s nice to meet you.”

Mikoto smiled and shook the other girl’s hand, “It’s nice to meet you too! I’m Misaka Mikoto.” She then glanced at Fukiyose’s chest and frowned,  _ “Wow, this girl has huge boobs! Are all his female classmates like this?”  _ She suddenly felt a sense of inferiority.

Fukiyose smiled back and said, “So you are the famous Railgun! I saw your performances at the Daihasei Festival, you were really great!”

Mikoto blushed a little at her praise and replied, “Oh, thanks!”

Fukiyose then continued, “So, Misaka-san, I guess you really are dating Kamijou. To be honest, I didn’t really believe him when he said he was dating you.”

Mikoto tilted her head in confusion and replied, “Huh, why’s that?”

Fukiyose casually answered, “Come on, you’re the 3rd Ranked Level 5 and the Ace of Tokiwadai! I had a hard time believing that you’d go out with someone like him.”

Mikoto narrowed her eyes and asked in a cool tone, “Fukiyose-san, what exactly do you mean by ‘someone like him’?”

Touma immediately knew from Mikoto’s tone and expression that Fuikiyose had somehow made a misstep, and he hoped that she wouldn’t get too angry.

Fukiyose didn’t really perceive the change in the other girl’s tone. Instead, she elaborated, “Oh come on, you were friends with him before, so you must know what he’s like. He’s a nice guy, sure, but he’s also really irresponsible and lazy. He misses school a lot without any good explanation, and he just blames all his problems on bad luck instead of working hard to improve himself. You worked hard to become a Level 5, right? So I’m just wondering what you see in him.”

Mikoto got more and more pissed off with every word the other girl said. She was now emitting a large amount of sparks, much more than when she’d seen Aogami. She glared at the other girl and angrily replied, “Okay, who the hell do you think you are, talking about him like that? Do you even know what he does outside of school, or do you think you can judge him just based on the few hours you see him in class? If you really knew what he’s like, lazy and irresponsible would be the last things you would call him! All that you’ve shown me is that you don’t know Touma at all!”

Touma was pretty worried as he watched Mikoto tear into his classmate. He was flattered by her defending him, but it looked like Mikoto was barely stopping herself from attacking Fukiyose. 

Mikoto then turned to glance at the boy, and she saw that he looked a little worried. Since the other girl was currently stunned speechless, Mikoto took a deep breath to calm herself down a little. She quickly walked up to him and grabbed his right hand to cancel out her own sparks. She then began roughly pulling him away from the school, saying, “Come on, you idiot, let’s get out of here!”

The boy sighed in relief, seeing that Mikoto decided to walk away from the situation. He replied, “All right, Biri-Biri.” He briefly turned back to check on Fukiyose, but she was still frozen, so he let his girlfriend continue dragging him away.

As the couple suddenly left her, Fukiyose regained her senses and let out a sigh of relief.  _ “Man, that girl was really angry! I guess I did insult Kamijou a little too much. Maybe I should apologize later.”  _ In any case, she was still curious how the boy had managed to get Mikoto to fall for him, but Fukiyose realized that she’d lost the chance to find out for now.

* * *

Touma and Mikoto were now walking away from his school, towards the amusement park where they planned to have their date. Mikoto still looked annoyed, so Touma squeezed her hand and said, “Hey, thanks for sticking up for me back there.” He was used to Fukiyose saying things like that to him whenever he lamented his misfortune, but he was still touched that his girlfriend had defended him so fervently.

Mikoto blushed as she recalled her outburst, and stammered, “N-no problem, you shouldn’t have to listen to people say stupid things like that about you.” She was a little embarrassed that she’d lost her temper, but she didn’t regret telling off that girl. She then asked, “So I guess you haven’t told her or the rest of your class about all the incidents you get involved in?”

The boy nervously rubbed his neck and answered, “No, not really.” With the exception of Tsuchimikado, his classmates had no idea about most of the trouble Touma got involved in. He continued, “Oh yeah, sorry again about Aogami. He’s literally the biggest pervert there is.”

Mikoto chuckled, “No worries, like I said, I took care of him, so people won’t be seeing weird dreams with me as a catgirl.”

Touma looked at the girl and imagined her with cat ears on top of her head. He smirked and replied, “Oh, I don’t know, I think you’d look really cute as a catgirl!”

This made Mikoto extremely flustered, and she stammered, “R-really?”

The boy brought up his free hand and softly stroked her hair, saying, “Of course, it would be fun to have a pet Nekoto to play with! Or do you prefer Mikoneko?”

The girl blushed even harder at his teasing. She pulled the boy’s hand off of her head and said, “Sh-shut up, I’m not actually a cat!” She also wondered,  _ “How exactly does he want to play with me?”  _ She imagined him cuddling and pampering her like a cat, causing her cheeks to redden even more.

Touma laughed at the adorable expression on her face, but then gave her a smile and replied, “I know, I know, though you’re still pretty cute already.”

Mikoto shyly replied, “Th-thanks!” She remained silent for a bit after that in order to regain her composure.

The two of them then continued walking, soon reaching the amusement park. There were a lot of activities they could do, including rides and carnival games, but they decided to first head for a food stall to get some ice cream. 

Mikoto ordered some strawberry ice cream, while Touma went for vanilla. They sat down on a nearby bench to enjoy their desserts. 

Touma ate his ice cream relatively slowly, instead contenting himself with watching Mikoto consuming hers. She had a smile on her face as she kept eating one spoonful at a time. The boy asked her, “Does it taste good?”

The girl nodded, “Yeah, it does!” She looked down at her cup of ice cream and suddenly got an idea. She gave the boy a shy smile and asked, “D-do you want to have a taste?”

Touma didn’t see any reason not to, so he answered, “Yeah, sure!”

Mikoto scooped some strawberry ice cream into her spoon and held it out near the boy’s mouth. She was a little embarrassed about doing this, but she said, “Say aah!”

Touma was a bit surprised to see her offer to feed him, but he was glad to take her up on it. He said, “Aah!” and closed his mouth over the spoon, eating the ice cream from it. As she pulled back the spoon, he smiled at her and said, “You’re right, it’s pretty delicious! You want some of my vanilla?”

Mikoto was pleased that she was able to pull it off without getting too flustered, though she wasn’t quite prepared for him to reciprocate. She silently nodded at the boy’s offer and opened her mouth a little, allowing Touma to place his spoon into her mouth. She ate the ice cream and said, “It’s pretty t-tasty!”

Now that they’d both had the chance to feed each other, Mikoto and Touma resumed eating their own ice creams. It didn’t take them too much longer for them to finish, but then Touma looked at the girl’s face and noticed something. He softly told her, “Hey Biri-Biri, you have some ice cream on your cheek. Here, I’ll get it.” The boy used a napkin to gently wipe the spot off her face.

Mikoto blushed furiously from this unexpected action. She looked down while he cleaned her face and nervously replied, “Th-thanks!” Once he was finished, they got up from the bench, threw away their trash, and began walking around the amusement park.

Touma then asked, “So, what should we do next? Do you want to go on one of the rides?”

Mikoto answered, “Well, maybe not so soon after eating. We could try some of the games? Some of those prizes look really good!” She was mainly referring to all the Gekota merchandise as she suggested this.

The boy replied, “Sure, that sounds fun!” His bad luck prevented him from doing well in a lot of carnival games, but there were a few games that were more skill-based that he had an actual chance of winning.

However, before Touma could get very far, someone suddenly came running up to him from behind, jumped on his back, and wrapped her arms around his neck. “It’s you, cheers Misaka as Misaka grabs onto your back!”

Touma craned his neck to look behind him and exclaimed, “Last Order?” Not having expected her approach, he staggered forward, trying to keep his balance. After a few steps, though, he was able to stand back up.

Mikoto was equally surprised to see the smaller girl, and asked, “W-what are you doing here, Last Order?” Although she’d seen it happen once before, Mikoto was still a little perturbed by the sight of her little sister clinging to Touma like that.

“Hey, Big Sister, greets Misaka as Misaka suddenly realizes you two are on a date. Accelerator was being mean to Misaka, so Misaka decided to explore on her own for a while, says Misaka as Misaka explains her sudden appearance while pouting.”

Mikoto raised an eyebrow and asked, “How exactly was he being mean to you?” It seemed that Accelerator had brought Last Order to the amusement park, but she was a little skeptical of Last Order’s claim, especially since she just basically admitted to being childish.

“He did not let Misaka go on any of the rides, even though she is tall enough, explains Misaka and Misaka vents her frustration.”

Touma then wondered, “Aren’t you too short for a lot of the rides? Some of them are pretty dangerous for little kids.” 

“Misaka was tall enough since her ahoge is a part of her height, argues Misaka as Misaka recalls her dismay at being denied.”

Mikoto chuckled and retorted, “No, that doesn’t really count. Anyway, how long are you going to keep clinging onto this idiot like that?” 

Touma then turned to the girl on his back and said, “Yeah actually, could you get off me now? My back is getting a little tired.” 

“All right, agrees Misaka and Misaka jumps down, wondering if Big Sister is jealous of her.”

Mikoto smirked and replied, “What are you talking about? Why would I be jealous of a child?” 

Touma chuckled, “Don’t worry, Biri-Biri, you don’t have to be jealous. Come here.” He extended his arms and pulled the girl into a hug, rubbing circles on her back.

The girl blushed, but gladly returned the embrace. She softly said, “I know that, you idiot. But you are really popular with all my sisters, huh?”

The boy stroked her hair and replied, “Well, your sisters are all pretty great, but you’re the one I’m dating!” 

Mikoto replied, “I know, and I’m really happy about that!” She gave him a squeeze, and then they separated from each other.

“Now that you two are done flirting, Misaka wants to play the games, whines Misaka as Misaka looks forward to winning a prize!” Last Order then grabbed both Touma’s and Mikoto’s hands and began dragging them towards the game booths.

Touma quickly caught up to her pace, turning to Mikoto and observing, “She’s pretty eager, isn’t she?”

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, well, we were going to check out the games anyway, so let’s go for it!” She then looked down at her little sister and gently asked, “So Last Order, what game do you want to play?”

“Misaka wants to try the balloon dart game, exclaims Misaka as Misaka pulls you two towards it.” It was a standard carnival game where the goal was to throw darts at inflated balloons and win prizes based on which balloons were popped.

Mikoto paid for the game, and Last Order was ready to give it a try. “Misaka has absorbed the combat experience of all the Misakas, so this will be easy for her, boasts Misaka as Misaka prepares to fire!” 

However, on all three of her tries, she wasn’t able to throw the darts far enough to even reach the balloons. “Wait, that’s not fair! Misaka demands a redo, whines Misaka as Misaka throws a tantrum about not getting the prize she wanted!” She stomped on the ground and spun around in a circle as she complained about the result of her throws.

Mikoto thought to herself, “ _ Even if you have all their memories, it doesn’t help if you don’t have the strength to throw the darts far enough. _ ” Wanting to console her younger sister, she kneeled down so that she was at eye level with Last Order, patted her head, and said, “Don’t worry, your Big Sister will win the prize for you!”

Last Order’s eyes sparkled as Mikoto made that pledge. “Thank you, Big Sister, says Misaka as Misaka rejoices at getting someone else to do the work for her!”

Mikoto sighed,  _ “Touma was right about her being childish. Well, at least she’s honest.”  _ She paid for another set of tries and was easily able to pop a balloon with every single throw, since she had plenty of experience aiming her arcade coins over much larger distances. This allowed her to select any large prize she wanted.

Last Order suddenly ran up to her and hugged Mikoto around her waist. “You’re amazing, Big Sister, exclaims Misaka as Misaka scans the rows for a good prize!”

She smiled down at Last Order and said, “Thanks, so which prize do you want?”

“That one, says Misaka as Misaka points to the large Gekota plushie!” 

Mikoto gave Last Order a big grin and said, “Hey, you have pretty good taste!” She got the plushie from the attendant and gave it to Last Order, who gleefully hugged it in her arms.

Touma smiled as he watched them interact and said, “You like Gekota too, Last Order? Well, I guess it makes more sense for you, since you are a kid.”

Mikoto retorted, “Hey! Like I said before, Gekota is for people of all ages!” 

The boy replied, “Yeah, sure, whatever you say.” He then noticed another game and pointed it out, “Hey that one looks interesting!” The game involved punching a target as hard as possible, with a machine measuring the force behind the punch. Two people could compete against each other to get a higher score, and esper powers were allowed. 

Mikoto looked at the game he pointed out and immediately got pumped up, “Oh, you’re on!” It was pretty similar to the arcade game she played in the underground mall. In part due to her angry mood back then, she’d achieved a record score, so she was eager to try it out again.

After paying, Mikoto was the first one to take her turn. She concentrated herself and clenched her fist, trying to get into the right mood. She then punched the target as hard as she could, boosting her power a bit with her electricity, a technique she’d been learning from Hokaze Junko. Mikoto was pleased to see that she’d surpassed her previous record. 

Touma did see a few sparks coming out of her hand, but he was still pretty stunned at her result, “Wow, you’re pretty good! I didn’t know you could use your power to strengthen your punches.”

Mikoto smirked, “Yeah, this is a new technique that I’m learning from one of my classmates. She’s a Level 4 Electromaster, but her specific ability, Rampage Dress, lets her strengthen her body. According to her, I should be able to get the same results if I train hard enough, but right now I have to make sure not to overdo it or I’ll end up injuring myself.” 

The boy frowned, “Wow, that sounds a little dangerous! But as long as you’re being careful, it seems like a really helpful technique for fights.” He was a little worried, but he trusted her to take care of herself.

Touma then paid for the game and prepared for his turn. He clenched his trusty fist and punched the target with his usual right hook. The machine measured a force that was well above Mikoto’s force.

Now it was Mikoto’s turn to be shocked. After a few seconds, her shoulders drooped and she said, “Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I saw how hard you punched Accelerator after all.”

Touma nervously rubbed his neck, a little embarrassed by her praise. He then replied, “Yeah, well anyway, which prize do you want, Biri-Biri?”

The girl pointed to herself and said, “Me? But you’re the one who won!”

The boy smiled at her and replied, “Well, isn’t it normal for me to want to win a prize for my girlfriend? Besides, there aren’t really any prizes I want, and I know you probably want one of the Gekotas, right?”

Mikoto blushed a little, “C-could you get me that one?” She pointed at a large Gekota plushie with a mustache and a suit. 

Touma nodded, “All right.” He then received that plushie from the attendant and gave it to Mikoto. 

The girl hugged it against her body, shyly saying, “Th-thanks.” She approached him, leaned in, and kissed Touma on the cheek.

The boy blushed and subconsciously touched the spot she just kissed. After a moment, he smiled at her and said, “You’re welcome.”

“That was fun, but Misaka should probably try to find Accelerator soon, says Misaka as Misaka starts to worry a little.”

Touma replied, “Yeah, you’ve been away from him for a while. This place isn’t too big, so if we sit down in one place, he should be able to find us soon.”

They headed to a nearby bench and sat down, with Mikoto holding Last Order in her lap and setting her new plushie to the side, while Last Order held onto her own plushie. Mikoto was anxious and frankly a little afraid to see Accelerator again for the first time since the end of the experiment. However, she hoped that the presence of Touma and Last Order would prevent a fight from breaking out.

The boy turned to Mikoto and said, “Hey, I’ve been wondering this for a while, but why do you like Gekota so much?” 

Mikoto looked down at Last Order with a nostalgic smile and answered, “I’ve really liked Gekota ever since I was a little girl, even younger than Last Order. Papa was away from home a lot, since he travels around the world for his job, so Mama would always tell me that Gekota would watch over me whenever I needed some company. And I’ve liked Gekota ever since.”

“Misaka loves Geokta too, exclaims Misaka as Misaka hugs her new plushie. Accelerator says it’s childish, though, adds Misaka as Misaka remembers his harsh words.”

Mikoto rubbed her sister’s head and grinned, “Well, you don’t have to listen to him. Gekota is great, and if he doesn’t understand, then that’s his problem!”

Touma then asked, “Do your other sisters like Gekota, Mikoto?”

The girl answered, “Well, 10032-chan said it was childish at first, but she was interested in the Gekota phone straps when she saw them. And Misaka 9982 said that the Gekota pin I gave her was lame, but she did appreciate it as a gift from me.”

The boy deduced, “Well, it sounds like they started liking it more once they saw how important it was to you.”

Mikoto smiled, “Yeah, maybe.” She was happy at the thought of her sisters appreciating Gekota more because of her.

Not long after, Accelerator, who had been looking for Last Order for a while, finally approached their location. He glanced around until his gaze fell upon the bench, and his eyes widened as he saw Last Order with Mikoto and Touma. This was the first time he’d seen them since that night he got punched unconscious by Touma, and Accelerator internally cursed the awkward encounter that was about to happen. Nevertheless, he scowled and shouted, “Hey, you brat, where the hell have you been?”

Last Order jumped out of Mikoto’s lap and headed towards him. “Misaka was with Big Sister and that boy, and they won this Gekota for me, exclaims Misaka as Misaka points out how they were much better company than you!” 

Accelerator delivered a sharp chop to Last Order’s head and said, “I don’t give a crap about any of that! I brought you to this stupid amusement park because you kept begging me to, and then you ran away immediately. Do you know how much time I had to waste searching for you?”

“Oww, cries Misaka as Misaka tries to make you feel sorry for her.”

Accelerator sharply replied, “Whatever, we’re going home now!” He grabbed Last Order’s hand and was about to leave, when he was suddenly interrupted.

Mikoto knew that she would have to confront him sooner or later, especially now that he was taking care of Last Order. So she gathered her courage and stood up from the bench, shouting, “Wait!”

Accelerator grimaced in annoyance. He turned to look back at her and sneered, “What do you want, third string? I’m not going to apologize to you. You were also one of the ones responsible for the experiment.”

The girl glared at him, with sparks starting to appear around her head. She scoffed, “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to, though it’s not like any apology from you would mean anything anyway. But it seems you’ve decided to try to redeem yourself, which is probably the best I could hope for, since there’s no way you’d ever face justice for your crimes. As for me, I do plan on making it up to my sisters, but there is absolutely no equivalence between our roles. I was tricked as a child into giving up my DNA map, but you knew exactly what you were doing.”

Accelerator tensed as he silently listened to her speech. He hated hearing her words, but he knew that every single one of them was correct. Even if Last Order thought that he didn’t really want to murder the clones, he did it anyway, and it was something he’d have to live with for the rest of his life. He faced away from her and said, “You’re right, just because I’ve changed doesn’t mean I’m a hero like that guy. But I will repay my debt as much as I can as a villain with just one life.” He then continued walking away, taking a silent Last Order with him.

Once Accelerator was gone, Mikoto let out a sigh of relief. That encounter had gone pretty well, all things considered.

Touma had silently watched their exchange, knowing that those two needed to have this conversation. Now that it was over, he got up as well and asked, “So, how do you feel?”

The girl smiled at him and answered, “Not too bad. I said everything I wanted to say to him. I’ll probably never forgive him for what he did, but if he takes care of Last Order, then I can probably learn to be civil with him.”

The boy smiled back, “Well, that’s good. Anyway, now that we’re alone again, how about we finish our date?”

Mikoto grinned, “Sounds good to me. It’s getting a little late though, so maybe we can fit in one more thing?”

Touma suggested, “How about the Ferris Wheel?” He figured it would be a pretty romantic way to end their date, especially since it was almost sunset.

The girl answered, “Sure, that sounds fun!” She grabbed his hand, and they started walking towards the ride.

After waiting in line for a bit, they got into one of the cars and sat down next to each other. As the Ferris Wheel started rotating, they settled in and leaned against each other, and Mikoto placed her Gekota plushie on the seat next to her.

Mikoto let out a contented sigh and commented, “Man, that was a pretty stressful conversation! But I’m glad we finally get to relax a little.” Having to be near Accelerator had been difficult for her, but hopefully it would be smooth sailing for the rest of their date.

Touma smiled at her and said, “You know, I’m really proud of you, Biri-Biri! It took a lot of courage to stand up and say what you needed to say to Accelerator.”

The girl smiled as well, feeling some pride in herself, and she replied, “Yeah, honestly I was a little scared, but it turned out okay in the end. I still hate that he’s not really going to face any consequences for his crimes, and that he implied that I was equally to blame for the experiment, but maybe at least we can start to move on.”

The boy nodded, “Yeah, it seems he takes care of Last Order well enough. I mean, he was mad at her, but he brought her here in the first place and seemed pretty worried about her running away.” Touma could tell that Accelerator was not the type of person to act nice even to people he liked, but it was clear that he treated Last Order relatively well.

Mikoto replied, “Yeah, that’s true. I’m also glad I got to properly meet Last Order, since we didn’t say anything to each other when we first met in the underground mall. You were right about her being childish, but I had a lot of fun with her around!”

Touma chuckled, “Yeah, she’s a handful, isn’t she? I had fun having her around too, but I’m also glad we have some alone time now!”

The girl replied, “Yeah, I didn’t expect to take care of a kid during our date, but it was actually pretty nice! And it’s good practice for the future!”

Touma raised an eyebrow and asked, “Practice for what exactly?” After a second, he realized what she might have been referring to. He smirked at her and teased, “Oh, I see, you’re thinking about having kids already, huh?”

Mikoto blushed furiously and waved her hands in denial, “W-what? No, no, th-that’s not what I meant! I meant if we ever babysit Last Order again!”

The boy continued teasing her, “Oh, that’s what you meant! I was going to say, it seems a little too soon to think about having kids together.”

The girl placed her hands on her cheeks and stammered, “I-I don’t think about having k-kids with y-you. Even if today was like being p-parents to Last Order, I really wasn’t referring to that!”

Touma gently grabbed onto her nearest hand and brought it down from her face, gently caressing it. He gave her a smile and said, “It’s okay, Biri-Biri, I’m just teasing you. I sort of had similar thoughts about taking care of Last Order.”

Mikoto frowned, bringing down her other hand. “You really like messing with me, don’t you?” 

The boy chuckled, “Yeah, it’s really fun when you make those cute embarrassed faces!” Now that he knew why she got so flustered sometimes, he could use that to his advantage. 

The girl sighed, “Well, at least you’re enjoying it.” Mikoto wished she could keep her composure around him a little better, but a part of her liked the fact that he found it cute when she didn’t.

After a moment, Touma asked her, “Anyway, I’m curious, did you use to look like Last Order when you were younger?” 

Mikoto thought back to when she was around Last Order’s biological age. She had already come to Academy City, but wasn’t yet a Level 5. It was around the time she was tricked into giving up her DNA map. She replied, “Yeah, I pretty much looked exactly like her, including the ahoge.”

The boy grinned at her, “Oh, you even had the ahoge, huh? You must have been really adorable back then!” As he said this, he ruffled her hair with his other hand. He then continued, “Were you as energetic as Last Order too?”

The girl replied, “Not quite as much as her, but I was pretty excited about being in Academy City and developing my power. You know, the night I first made sparks between my fingers, I thought they were like the twinkling stars in the sky. And I dreamt that as I grew stronger, I would someday be able to create a whole sky full of stars! I was so optimistic, but I was too naive back then to see the dark side of Academy City.”

Touma listened silently as she talked about her past in Academy City. He found her past dream really endearing, and he thought about how much it must have shattered her when she found out that the city was the one behind the experiment involving her sisters. He eventually said, “Well, like you said, no matter how bad Academy City is under the surface, it’s still the reason we were able to meet each other. And even if you can’t create a sky full of stars, you can create a pretty powerful lightning strike!”

Mikoto laughed, “Yeah, you have a point there.” It didn’t quite end up how she had hoped it would, but now that Mikoto had become a Level 5, she resolved to use her power to help make the city a little bit better at a time.

By this time, their car had nearly reached the top of the Ferris Wheel. The sun was starting to set, creating a pretty nice atmosphere. Touma gazed at Mikoto’s face, thinking that she looked especially pretty in the fading sunlight. He raised his free hand to her cheek and began gently stroking it with his thumb, softly saying, “You look really beautiful, Mikoto.”

The girl’s cheeks reddened at his sudden compliment and closeness. She then saw him slowly lean in towards her. Hoping for a kiss, she closed her eyes and waited for him to follow through.

Touma watched her close her eyes, and he blushed a little as she saw her sitting still and looking so eager. He finally closed the gap and pressed his lips against hers. She soon grabbed onto his shoulder and began kissing back. Their kiss lasted for a few seconds before they separated.

Mikoto was still a little flustered, but had a content smile on her face. She silently leaned against her boyfriend’s shoulder and watched the view as the car began descending down. 

Touma was a bit startled at the sudden wait on his shoulder, but he smiled once he saw Mikoto resting against him, and leaned his head against hers as well. He released her hand and instead wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her a little closer. 

The two of them stayed like that for the rest of the ride. Once they had reached the ground again, Touma and Mikoto exited the car, the girl making sure to retrieve her Gekota plushie, and started walking out of the amusement park.

Touma had had a lot of fun during their first date, but he was a little reluctant to end it already. So he turned to his girlfriend and said, “Hey, so it’s getting pretty late. Do you want to come over to my place for dinner? Index is visiting my teacher tonight, so it’ll just be the two of us.”

Mikoto became pretty flustered and stammered, “Y-you want us to be a-alone at your place t-tonight? W-what kinds of th-things do you want us to do?” She hadn’t been to his dorm room yet, and she wondered if he was looking to do some more intimate things together and maybe even have her stay overnight.

The boy’s eyes widened, and he blushed as he realized what she was thinking about. He quickly clarified, “Oh, I didn’t mean spending the night or anything. I was thinking we could have dinner together and maybe spend a little time together afterwards.”

Mikoto let out a sigh of relief, “Oh, that’s what you meant! Sure, I’d love to!” She didn’t think she was ready to spend the night with him, so she was glad that it was just dinner for now.

Touma grabbed her hand and replied, “All right, let’s go!” They then continued walking, this time towards his dorm, with Mikoto both nervous and excited to see his dorm room for the first time and to spend a little more time with him that night.

  
  



	15. Dorm Room Visit

A little later, the two of them had reached Touma’s dorm. He opened the door and let Mikoto enter the room behind him. As he closed and locked the door, Mikoto took the time to look around his dorm room and mentally compared it to her dorm room that she shared with Kuroko. It was a little larger than her room, which was notable since this room was meant to be for a single person, even if Touma was currently hosting an unauthorized roommate.

After placing her Gekota plushie on the bed, she turned to the boy and observed, “Wow, you have a personal kitchen! At Tokiwadai, if we want to cook something, we have to use a communal kitchen.” 

Touma then retorted, “Yeah, but don’t you get all your meals provided to you for free? So you don’t even need to cook, right?”

Mikoto replied, “Well, you have a point, but it would be nice to have the option. And you have a TV too! We’re not allowed to have them in our dorms.”

The boy sighed, “Well, Index usually hogs the TV, so I don’t get much benefit.” He then walked into the kitchen and asked her, “Are you fine with curry for dinner?” Touma wanted to cook something that was simple and wouldn’t take too much time.

The girl suddenly realized,  _ “He’s going to cook for me?”  _ It wasn’t too surprising in hindsight, but this fact hadn’t quite occurred to her until now. She stuttered, “Y-yeah, that’s fine. Do you want some help?” She followed him into the kitchen as she said this.

Touma turned to her with a smile, “No, that’s okay. You’re the guest, plus I want to cook a meal for my girlfriend!” He briefly caressed her hair and softly added, “Just sit back and relax, okay Biri-Biri?”

Mikoto blushed and gave him a shy smile, “O-okay.” She at least wanted to watch him cook, so she propped herself up to sit on the kitchen counter. 

The boy was a little confused by her remaining in the kitchen, and said, “Oh, you don’t have to stay here, I don’t mind if you sit in the living room.”

The girl grinned at him and replied, “Do you not want me here? I just want to observe you cook, and it’d be boring sitting all the way over there by myself.”

He knew her question was not serious, but he still wanted to reassure her, “No no, I don’t mind having you here! If you want to stay, that’s fine.” 

Mikoto replied, “Okay, then I will!” She was looking forward to seeing the boy in action, and she had the perfect vantage point.

Touma then began preparing the meal. He first poured out some rice and water into the rice cooker before turning it on. With that taken care of, he began preparing the curry sauce in a pan. He heated butter on a stove, then added some flour, and finally mixed in some spices to create the curry sauce.

Once the sauce was ready, the boy then took out some potatoes, carrots, and chicken from the fridge. After cutting the meat and vegetables, he added them to the pan and mixed them into the curry.

Mikoto fondly watched the boy as he went about the task. Even though it was a simple dish to make, she was still impressed, especially since she had little experience cooking.

While Touma continued stirring the pan, he noticed his girlfriend just observing him with a smile. He suddenly came up with a fun idea to involve her. He took a spoon and scooped out a small sample of the curry. Carefully holding his free hand under the spoon, he approached Mikoto and said, “Hey, you want to do a taste test?”

The girl’s cheeks reddened, and she nodded, “Y-yeah, sure.” She opened her mouth and let her boyfriend feed her. She chewed and savored the taste for a few seconds before swallowing, and she reported, “Wow, that’s really delicious!” She hadn’t expected it to taste so good, especially since it was such a common dish.

Touma grinned at her and patted her head, “Thanks Mikoto, I’m glad you like it!” He then leaned down and kissed the top of her head. 

Mikoto blushed even harder and stammered, “Y-you’re welcome!” By now, both the curry and the rice were finished cooking, so she watched as Touma took out two plates and some utensils and proceeded to set the table in the living room. She was about to descend from her perch on the counter when she came up with a fun idea of her own.

Touma finished setting the table and returned to the kitchen to quickly wash the pan. Once he was done, he turned to Mikoto, a little surprised she hadn’t headed to the living room yet. He announced, “Okay, dinner’s ready now, so let’s go eat!”

Mikoto fidgeted with her hands in her lap and shyly asked the boy, “C-could you c-carry me?”

The boy raised an eyebrow and replied, “Carry you? Did you get hurt or something?” She seemed fine, so he wasn’t sure why she was making that request.

The girl shook her head, “N-no, I’m not hurt. I j-just want you to carry me!” She stretched out her arms towards him and said, “Please?”

Now understanding her intentions, Touma gave her a teasing smile and said, “Oh, I see, you’re just feeling a little lazy! All right, since you asked so nicely.” He placed his left hand against her back, nudging her to scoot forward a bit. As she wrapped her arms around his neck, he placed his right arm under her knees and lifted her off the counter. He pulled her closer and said with a grin, “How’s this, princess?”

Mikoto blushed and savored the feeling of being princess carried for a moment, resting her head against Touma’s shoulder. She then replied, “Th-this is good.”

Touma also savored the feeling of the girl leaning against him and her smooth legs draped across his arm. He replied, “Okay, let go eat then!” He carried her the short distance to the living room and stopped in front of the table, ready to set her down.

Mikoto was really happy that he’d indulged her silly request, and she wanted to show her appreciation. The girl softly whispered into his ear, “Thank you!” She then quickly planted a kiss on his cheek.

The boy blushed as a result, but he gave her a smile and said, “You’re welcome, Biri-Biri!” He gently lowered the girl onto the floor in front of the table and then sat down across from her.

They then quickly dug into their food. After eating a portion of the curry, Mikoto told the boy, “Your cooking is amazing, it’s almost as good as the food we get at Tokiwadai!”

Touma raised an eyebrow and replied, “Only almost as good? What, does Tokiwadai hire professional chefs to cook all your meals?”

The girl chuckled, “Actually, yes! But seriously, how did you learn to cook so well?”

The boy answered, “Well, since I’m a Level 0 and also responsible for a girl with a bottomless stomach, I’ve had to get used to buying cheap ingredients to cook with and making a big enough variety of meals to not get bored. I guess I’ve gotten enough practice to make even common dishes taste good.”

Mikoto smiled at him, “Well, clearly getting all that practice worked out really well!” As she finished her plate, she wondered if she should start learning how to cook, especially so that she could return the favor and make food for her boyfriend.

Touma soon finished his plate as well, and he took the empty plates and utensils back to the kitchen and quickly washed the dishes. Once that was done, he went back into the living room and sat down on the floor, leaning against the bed.

Once he had sat down, Mikoto got up from her spot in front of the table and proceeded to sit down in the boy’s lap. She gently grabbed his hands and wrapped them around her waist while intertwining them with her own hands.

The boy was a little surprised by her sudden action and said, “Mikoto?” He pulled her a little closer so she was pressed against his front.

Mikoto was a little flustered, but she wanted to take the initiative, so she turned back to him with a shy smile and replied, “W-well, I just thought we could c-cuddle for a bit.” She gently caressed both of his hands with her thumbs and relaxed against him.

Touma chuckled, “All right then.” He enjoyed the feeling of her soft hair against his cheek and her massaging his hands.

After a few moments, Mikoto let go of the boy’s hands and said, “My shoulders are feeling a little tense. C-could you rub them for me?”

The boy smirked at her and replied, “First you wanted me to princess carry you, and now you want a shoulder massage? You’re pretty demanding today, aren’t you, Biri-Biri?”

Mikoto turned back to him, gave him a cute pout, and said, “Aw, come on, please? I promise to return the favor afterwards.”

Touma’s cheeks reddened as he gazed at her pleading face. He wasn’t really against pampering his girlfriend, and her offer to massage his shoulders in return was really tempting. He brought his hands up to her shoulders and replied, “All right, you have a deal!” The boy began rubbing her shoulders, making sure to apply a decent amount of pressure, since she was wearing two layers of clothing.

The girl subconsciously closed her eyes and leaned back against him as she experienced the amazing sensation of his hands massaging her shoulders. She let out a contented sigh as she felt the tension in her shoulders fading away. 

After a little while, Mikoto asked, “Hey Touma, are you free tomorrow afternoon?” She figured that now was a good time to tell him about the upcoming meeting between her friends and her sisters.

The boy answered, “Yeah, I think so. Why?” He wondered if she wanted to go out again the next day, or if it was something else.

The girl replied, “Well, Uiharu-san ran into Last Order a few days ago, and it turned out that the 2nd Ranked Level 5, Dark Matter, was looking for her. Uiharu-san protected her, but that guy stomped on her shoulder and probably would’ve killed her if Accelerator hadn’t then shown up.”

Touma’s eyes widened, “Wow, that sounds really scary! I’m glad she came out of it mostly okay, thanks to Accelerator.”

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, I’m so relieved. Anyway, Uiharu-san could obviously tell that Last Order was related to me, and since she already got into danger just by meeting Last Order, I figured that now would be a good time to finally tell my friends about my sisters and about the experiment.” 

The boy replied, “Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Plus, you won’t have to keep it a secret from them anymore.”

The girl smiled, “Yeah, it’ll be such a relief to finally get it off my chest. Anyway, can you come with us to visit my sisters in the hospital? 10032-chan said she wants you to be there to help protect her from Kuroko.”

Touma said, “Sure, I’d love to come! But do you think Shirai-san will actually harass your sisters? I know she’s a huge pervert and they look like you, but I thought her perversion was just focused on you.”

Mikoto shrugged, “Honestly, I’m not sure, but I don’t want to take that chance.” Unlike Mikoto, her sisters couldn’t shock Kuroko enough to defend themselves, so she was a little worried for their safety.

The boy nodded, “Yeah, okay, I’ll try to help restrain her if she goes crazy.” He was a little scared of Kuroko, since she could teleport her pins into his body if she wanted to, but Touma hoped that having Mikoto and her friends there as well would help prevent her from causing too much damage.

Mikoto exclaimed, “Great!” By this point, her boyfriend had been massaging her shoulders for a while, so she turned around so she was kneeling in his lap and facing him. She gave the boy a quick peck on the lips and then said with a grin, “All right, it’s time for me to return the favor!” She placed her hands on his shoulders and began gently rubbing them.

Touma blushed in response to all of this, particularly because her face was so close to his and she was gazing directly at him with a smile. He leaned back and let himself relax in response to her ministrations, while resting his hands on her waist and smiling back at her. 

After some time, the boy asked, “So I assume you’ve told your friends about us already?”

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, Saten-san and Uiharu-san were really excited about the news. Kuroko wasn’t so happy, though.” As she mentioned Kuroko’s reaction, she had a visible grimace on her face.

Touma guessed from her tone and expression that Kuroko had probably tried to molest her when she heard the news. He sighed and replied, “I guess that was to be expected. Index wasn’t too happy when I told her either, she bit my head even harder than usual! I guess she didn’t like the thought of us dating because she doesn’t get along with you. But hopefully our roommates will eventually come around.”

Mikoto thought,  _ “I guess he hasn’t figured out why we don’t get along.”  _ Not wanting to reveal Index’s feelings for him, Mikoto instead replied, “Yeah, I hope so. I should probably have a talk with her soon.” She hoped she could eventually make Kuroko accept their relationship.

By this point, the girl had finished rubbing her shoulders and now just had them wrapped around his neck. Touma absentmindedly rubbed his thumbs over the bottom of her vest. There was another thing he wanted her to do for him, so he nervously asked, “Hey, I know this is a big thing to ask, but could you give me a lap pillow again?”

Mikoto’s cheeks reddened as she heard his request. After a pause, she smirked at him and replied, “Well well, look who’s being demanding now! But, I guess you did carry me when I asked you to, so it’s only fair!” She then got up off his lap and sat down in a kneeling position, leaning against the bed. The girl patted her lap and said, “All right, here you go!”

Touma eagerly lay down in her lap, with Mikoto holding onto his shoulders to help position him. He took a few moments to enjoy the soft feeling of her legs under his head, and then smiled up at the girl, saying, “Thank you, Mikoto-sama!”

The girl gently ran her fingers through his hair and stammered, “You idiot, I don’t m-mind it at all, so f-feel free to ask w-whenever you want!”

The boy smirked, “Oh, I can have lap pillows whenever I want? That’s very generous of you!” He grabbed her free hand with his and started softly stroking it.

Mikoto smiled down at him and continued playing with his hair. “Of course.” After a pause, she continued, “Hey, I’m curious, what’s high school like? You seem to have some...interesting friends.”

Touma sighed, “School’s a bit of a pain, honestly. I miss classes a lot because of all the fights I get into, so my grades are pretty bad and I’m in danger of having to repeat a grade. And even when I do go to class, I get into stupid debates with those two perverts, and Fukiyose has to break up our fights.”

The girl’s eyes widened, “You’re having trouble with your grades? I guess if you miss a lot of classes, you’d have a hard time on homework and tests.”

The boy nodded, “Yeah, my teacher, Komoe-sensei, keeps scheduling make up sessions for me, but I often miss those too, and it’s still not enough to save my grades.”

Mikoto then offered, “Hmm, if you want, I can tutor you. Based on your homework that I helped you with that other time, I think I’m pretty familiar with your curriculum.”

Touma groaned and replied, “Yeah, all right, but I can’t believe I have to get help from a middle schooler!”

The girl gently poked his nose and smirked, “Well, I promise that I won’t be too harsh a teacher.” 

The boy replied, “I am very grateful, Mikoto-sensei!” He wasn’t sure she’d be able to help him that much, since he’d still miss classes, but having study dates with his girlfriend sounded pretty fun.

Mikoto then said, “You’re welcome! Anyway, what kind of debates do you get into with your perverted friends?”

Touma chuckled, “It’s funny you say that, because we get into heated arguments over which type of girl is better or which fetishes are better.”

The girl blushed, recalling his friend Aogami’s perverted dreams and realizing that her boyfriend was apparently regularly discussing similarly perverted topics. “W-well, you are all high school boys after all, so I guess that’s normal for you to be a little perverted.”

Touma sighed, “Well, I think they’re more perverted than normal. Though the most recent silly argument we got into was something a bit different.”

Mikoto raised an eyebrow, “Oh, it was about something besides perverted fetishes?”

The boy replied, “Sort of? We were arguing over whether hand-holding or headpats are better.”

The girl was pretty surprised. “Wow, that’s actually an interesting question. For the headpats, do you mean giving or receiving them? And which do you think is better?”

Touma shrugged, “Both giving and receiving, I guess? As for which one I prefer, I think each has its pros. With hand-holding, both of us get to share each other’s warmth and can use it to reassure and comfort each other.” As he said this, he squeezed the girl’s hand to demonstrate.

Since Mikoto was still playing with his hair, he continued, “When you give me headpats, I feel really relaxed and can see how much you care for me.” He then brought up his other hand and slowly stroked the top of her head, saying, “But I think I like giving you headpats the most. Your hair is so soft and silky, and I love seeing you blush and smile whenever I do it.”

Just like he said, Mikoto blushed furiously, though this was also in part due to his sweet words. She stammered, “Th-that’s a pretty d-detailed answer.” She gave him a shy smile and continued, “I r-really like your h-headpats, they make me feel warm and comforted.”

Touma smiled back at her, “Thanks, I’m glad to hear that! Though now that I think about it, I’d say that lap pillows are even better than both!”

Mikoto chuckled, “Oh, really? And why is that?” It wasn’t hard to guess why, but she was curious to hear his reasoning.

The boy replied, “Well, there’s the obvious thing where I get to lie on a soft and warm pillow and be pampered by you, and I get to look up and see your cute face! But it also shows that we trust each other. You trust me enough to have my head in your lap, and I trust you enough to put myself in your care. It’s one of the most intimate things a couple can do.”

The girl was once again awed by his thoughtfulness. She replied, “Wow, I never thought about it that way, but you’re right! I didn’t know you were perceptive enough to think all of this through. Maybe you’d get better grades if you applied this to your studies, though.”

Touma chuckled, “Yeah, maybe. Anyway, enough about my school. How about you, what’s Tokiwadai like?”

Mikoto replied, “Honestly, Tokiwadai is pretty stifling. The classes are very advanced and interesting, but the rules are really strict. We have to wear our uniforms all the time, even outside of school and on weekends. If we’re late for curfew, we get severely punished by our dorm manager. We have a lot of great facilities for developing our esper powers, and I do mostly enjoy the classes, but sometimes I wish I could go to a regular school like yours, since it seems like you actually get to have fun.”

The boy was a little surprised she felt so strongly about her school, but it made sense given what he knew about Tokiwadai already. He replied, “Yeah, that sounds pretty tough. But at least you’re doing well in school, right? Do you have a lot of friends there? I’ve heard that most of the girls are pretty sheltered, and you don’t seem like you’d get along with a lot of them.”

The girl replied, “Yeah, in fact, a lot of the girls haven’t even stepped foot outside the School Garden! As for me, other than Kuroko, I don’t really have any really close friends from Tokiwadai, though I do have some good acquaintances.”

Touma tried reassuring her, “Well, you also have Saten-san and Uiharu-san as close friends, right? As long as you have a few good friends, I think you’re in good shape!”

Mikoto smiled at him, “Yeah, I’m really lucky to have such great friends! I haven’t always been the best friend to them, but hopefully I’ll get to make it up to them tomorrow when I tell them about my sisters.”

The boy agreed, “Yeah, tomorrow’s going to be a big day.” He closed his eyes and continued enjoying Mikoto’s pampering.

Unfortunately for them, they would not be alone for much longer. Index had finished dinner at Komoe’s place, and she now unlocked the door and entered the apartment, shouting, “Touma, I’m home!” As she walked in and glanced into the living room, she saw a horrible sight. The boy in question was lying down on a girl’s lap, and the girl happened to be that rude girl he’d said he was dating now. And not just that, but Mikoto was spoiling him like a king! 

Index bore her sharp teeth and shouted, “Touma, I come back home and the first thing I see is you in that sinful position! It seems like I have to punish you again!” She then quickly jumped towards the couple, aiming to bite Touma’s head.

Touma had instantly opened his eyes and become fearful once he’d heard that Index was home. Even though he wasn’t doing anything wrong, he knew from Index’s angry expression that he was about to face a painful dose of misfortune. He instinctively closed his eyes again and tried raising his arms to shield himself.

Mikoto also saw what was about to happen. She knew about the nun’s habit of biting Touma’s head, so she held out her arm in front of his head in order to block the assault. Index ended up chomping on Mikoto’s arm instead, and the severe pain caused her to instinctively give the nun a small electric shock. This didn’t cause any lasting damage, but was enough to loosen the other girl’s jaw, causing Index to fall back onto the floor.

When Touma didn’t feel any pain, he slowly opened his eyes and saw that his girlfriend had protected him by taking the blow herself. He then looked up at Mikoto and saw that she was glaring at Index. He got up off her lap, allowing Mikoto to stand up to face Index.

Mikoto was pissed off at the nun’s audacity to just walk in and immediately attempt to hurt her boyfriend. She angrily exclaimed, “What the hell? What is wrong with you? I know that Touma told you that the two of us are going out now! You have no right to attack him for being in a position I agreed to, especially since I’m his girlfriend!”

Index froze at the other girl’s words. She’d been disoriented when Mikoto had shocked her off her arm, so it took her a few seconds to digest everything that had happened. She eventually stammered, “B-but Touma shouldn’t be behaving like that around girls! He won’t learn unless he gets punished when he misbehaves!”

Mikoto sharply replied, “Look, I know that you don’t like the fact that we’re dating now, but this is a perfectly normal thing for a boyfriend and girlfriend to do. You’re just going to have to deal with it. And I think you owe him an apology.” The girl knew she was being a bit harsh, but a part of her was relishing finally getting her comeuppance on the nun.

Index’s eyes started to tear up. Touma had often been angry with her when she bit him, but he’d never been as angry as Mikoto was now. And now that she had some time to reflect on her actions, she realized that Mikoto was right. She had no real claim on Touma. She’d confessed to him in the hospital after he’d saved her, but Touma had completely ignored it while pretending to have amnesia. Index had always gotten angry whenever he’d gotten close to other girls, especially Mikoto, and hoped that he would eventually return her feelings. But it was too late now, and Mikoto was now his girlfriend.

Index sighed, “You’re right, Short Hair.” She then turned to Touma, saying, “I’m sorry, Touma. I shouldn’t have attacked you.”

Touma nervously chuckled, “Thanks, Index, I appreciate it. I’m sorry that you were surprised by her being here, but Mikoto will probably be coming over more often now, so I hope you two can get along.”

Index looked down and said, “I’ll try my best.” She dreaded the thought of regularly having the other girl in the room that she’d previously thought of as private between her and Touma, but it was something she’d have to get used to.

Mikoto sighed and said, “Yeah, me too.” She then picked up her Gekota plushie from the bed and announced to Touma, “Okay, I should probably head back home now.” 

Touma replied, “Yeah, it’s getting pretty late.” He walked with her to the door, preparing to see her out.

Wanting to end the night on a good note, Mikoto grabbed onto his shoulders and pressed her lips to his. The boy quickly held onto her waist and returned the goodnight kiss. After a few seconds, they separated, gazing into each other’s eyes. Touma softly rubbed her head and said, “See you tomorrow, Biri-Biri!”

Mikoto gave him a shy smile and replied, “S-see you tomorrow, you idiot!” She then opened the door and left the apartment. As she began walking back home, she thought back to their date at the amusement park and the time they just spent in his dorm, looking forward to all their future dates.

After she left, Touma headed back into the living room, also looking back on their eventful date. Mikoto had already made his life so much better than it had previously been, and he hoped it would continue.

As for Index, she’d watched the couple’s kiss with growing dismay. If a part of her hadn’t believed Touma when he’d announced that he was dating Mikoto, Index now had definitive proof. Mikoto’s rebuke of her still stung, and Index wondered how her relationship with Touma would change from now on.


	16. Meeting the Sisters

The next morning, Mikoto and her friends were heading towards the hospital so that she could introduce them to her sisters, though they didn’t know that yet. Mikoto was pretty anxious about this, especially since she would have to explain and thus relive the horrors of the Level 6 Shift experiment, but she hoped that in the end it would help strengthen her friendships.

Kuroko was looking forward to finally finding out what her onee-sama had been keeping secret from her for so long, but she was also worried about something else. The previous night, Mikoto had returned late, well beyond curfew, and she was carrying a new Gekota plushie. Kuroko had an idea of where she had been, especially since Mikoto had looked so happy. But now Kuroko wanted to confirm what she suspected, so she asked, “Onee-sama, where were you last night? I waited for you to come home, but you missed curfew and I had to cover for you with the dorm manager.”

Before Mikoto could answer, Saten grinned and said, “Ooh, Misaka-san was out late last night? I guess that date went really well! Did Kamijou-san invite you over for some quality alone time, Biri-Biri?” She decided to compound her teasing by using Touma’s nickname for Mikoto.

Mikoto blushed at Saten’s teasing but sharply reacted to her friend’s use of that nickname, “Hey, don’t call me that! Only T-Touma can call me that!” 

Saten laughed and replied, “All right, all right, don’t worry, Misaka-san. So how was the date?” She found it really adorable how Mikoto only wanted her boyfriend to call her Biri-Biri.

She then continued, “The d-date went really well, actually. The amusement park was fun, he won me a new Gekota plushie, and we rode on the Ferris Wheel during sunset! And afterwards, he invited me over for dinner.”

Uiharu’s eyes sparkled as she gushed, “Wow, riding a Ferris Wheel at sunset, that’s so romantic! And then he even cooked for you, Misaka-san! But if you came home so late, you two must have been spending a lot of time doing other things after dinner.”

Saten smirked and added, “Yeah, that’s plenty of time for them to make out or go even further! After all, they were all alone, with no one to interrupt them!”

Kuroko’s eyes widened at Saten’s implication. She roughly grabbed onto Mikoto’s shoulders and exclaimed, “Onee-sama, please tell me that you haven’t already given up your innocence to that troglodyte!” 

Mikoto was a bit flustered by the conversation, but Kuroko’s over-the-top reaction led to her rolling her eyes, “Calm down, Kuroko, nothing like that happened. W-we just cuddled for a bit, that’s all. And b-besides, even if we did go further, there’s nothing wrong with that! We are a couple, after all!” She knew that her best friend was having a hard time accepting her new relationship, but she hoped that it would start happening soon.

The four of them soon reached the hospital, where Touma was already waiting for them. When the boy saw them approaching, he smiled at Mikoto and said, “Hey, Biri-Biri!” Touma then held out his arms, beckoning her towards him.

Mikoto immediately brightened up and rushed into his arms, wrapping him into a hug. “H-hey, Touma!” She then kissed him, momentarily forgetting that her friends were watching. The two of them separated after just a few seconds but, they continued to embrace each other, and Mikoto felt really nice being wrapped in his arms again. 

After hugging for a few more moments, they separated a bit, though still holding onto each other. Touma stroked her hair and asked with a smirk, “Wow, you must have missed me a lot, huh?”

The girl shyly admitted, “Y-yeah, I did. Yesterday was a lot of fun!” 

The boy kissed the top of her head and softly replied, “It sure was!”

Uiharu was in awe at the scene in front of her. She said, “Aww, you guys are so cute together!” She was really glad that Touma made her friend so happy.

Kuroko frowned and crossed her arms, glaring at the boy, “Do you have to be so lovey-dovey?” She knew that Mikoto had already kissed him before, but to see it first hand was even more painful.

Saten chided the girl, “Oh, come on, Shirai-san, just let them be happy and adorable together!” 

Mikoto was pretty embarrassed by her friends’ comments, but now that everyone was here, she knew it was time to introduce them to her sisters. She separated from Touma and said, “All right guys, I’m going to introduce you to some people who are very important to me. I’m sorry I couldn’t have you meet them before, but I hope you’ll treat them well. That especially goes for you, Kuroko! You better not harass them like you always do to me!”

Kuroko replied in disbelief, “Onee-sama, you know that I’d never do that to anyone besides you!”

Mikoto rolled her eyes and warned, “You’d better not!”

Her friends wondered who exactly they would be meeting. Uiharu thought about whether they’d be meeting the little girl who was supposedly a relative of Mikoto’s, but since Mikoto didn’t mention that little girl, Uiharu concluded that she wouldn’t be one of the people they were about to meet.

Saten smiled at Mikoto and reassured her, “We’ll treat them well, Misaka-san. We’re glad to finally meet these people who are so important to you!”

Mikoto smiled back and said, “Thanks, Saten-san!” She then took a deep breath to calm her nerves, before leading the group to the room where her sisters were staying.

As Mikoto opened the door to let the rest of them in, her four sisters stood up in order to greet them. Kuroko, Saten, and Uiharu all had their mouths agape as they were faced with the stunning sight of four exact lookalikes of their friend, all of them wearing goggles and necklaces. Mikoto then said to them, “Hey guys, I’d like you to meet my little sisters.” Turning to her sisters and gesturing to her friends in turn, she continued, “These are my friends, Shirai Kuroko, Saten Ruiko-san, and Uiharu Kazari-san.”

Uiharu was the first to recover from her shock, “M-Misaka-san, you’re a quintuplet?” This was the most obvious explanation for what she was seeing, but she had a hard time believing it, since her friend was supposedly an only child.

“Not exactly, says Misaka 10039. Although we are all identical on a genetic level, we were not born at the same time as Big Sister, elaborates Misaka 10039.”

Saten gasped as she made the realization. “Wait, there was an urban legend about this. You’re clones, aren’t you?”

“Yes, that is correct. We are all clones of Big Sister Misaka Mikoto, created from her DNA map, explains Misaka 13577.”

Saten nodded, “Yeah, that makes sense. I didn’t know that Misaka-san had given out her DNA map, but there were rumors of Level 5 clones, and about her being seen in multiple places. Oh, why do you refer to yourselves using numbers?” She also noticed that they seemed to refer to themselves in the third person and narrate their own dialogue, but she figured that was a result of their programming, and felt it would be rude to comment on it. 

“Those are our serial numbers. For example, I am Misaka 19090, which means that I was the 19090th Misaka to be created.”

Uiharu turned to Mikoto and said, “Amazing, so you had almost twenty thousand clones of you created? Did you know about this? How did they get your DNA map?”

Mikoto frowned, “Yeah, they made 20,001 clones, including Last Order, the little girl you met the other day. I gave my DNA map when I was a little girl because some scientists told me that researching my DNA and my ability could be used to cure patients with muscular dystrophy. But I had no idea that it would be used to make clones. I’m not sure if that was the plan all along, or if it happened after other people got a hold of my DNA map. But in the end, my wonderful sisters were born, so I can’t regret that too much.”

“Although she didn’t know about our creation, Big Sister has supported us ever since she first met us, recounts Misaka 10032, complimenting her Big Sister.”

Touma smiled at Mikoto, glad that she had come to terms with her role in her sisters’ creation. He faced Mikoto’s friends and said, “Mikoto really loves her sisters and would do anything for them.”

Kuroko had been partially listening to the conversation, but she had been more focused on ogling the Misaka sisters. They all matched the flawless beauty of her onee-sama, and the way they talked was just so cute! And best of all, they weren’t already taken by that annoying troglodyte! She fantasized about all the things she could do with multiple onee-samas. She approached the Sisters, creepily wiggling her fingers and exclaiming, “Oh, I’m so lucky I came here today! Who knew I could get not one, not two, but four more onee-samas!”

Mikoto had been looking out this, so she quickly sprung into action, harshly grabbing onto Kuroko’s shoulders and pulling her back, saying, “Oh no, you don’t!” She turned to her boyfriend and asked, “A little help here?”

Touma, knowing that Kuroko was still in danger of teleporting, quickly grabbed onto her wrist, preventing her from using her ability. 

Kuroko came out of her lust-induced daze as she realized that the boy was preventing her from teleporting. She gulped as she looked back and noticed that Mikoto was barely restraining herself from shocking her.

Mikoto gritted her teeth and said, “Kuroko, I would greatly appreciate it if you kept your perverted hands off of my sisters! You told me you would behave yourself, but the moment you saw them, you went out of control like always.”

“Big Sister, does this perverted girl attack you with that slimy gaze often, asks Misaka 10039, a bit concerned about your well-being.”

“That’s not all, 10039. Big Sister has recounted some truly disturbing events to Misaka, reveals Misaka 10032. She has groped Big Sister multiple times in bed and in the shower, she’s tried to drug Big Sister with aphrodisiacs more than once, and she once even teleported off Big Sister’s underwear, leaks Misaka 10032, truly disgusted at the girl’s utter debauchery.”

Mikoto blushed in embarrassment as her sister revealed the worst examples of her roommate’s perversion in front of her boyfriend. “H-hey, you didn’t need to say that all out loud!”

Kuroko replied to Misaka 10032 defensively, “Hold on, those were merely examples of me showing my love and devotion to my onee-sama!”

“Isn’t this girl a Judgement officer, recalls Misaka 13577. It is both ironic and disturbing that someone who is in charge of enforcing the law repeatedly sexually harasses her own roommate and friend, observes Misaka 13577.”

“Misaka is very worried for you, Big Sister. Even while you get into danger to protect us and others you care about, you can’t even feel safe in your own home, laments Misaka 19090. You can’t even sleep in your bed to take a shower without wondering whether this perverted girl will take the chance to molest you, adds Misaka 19090, wanting her Big Sister to have a safe home life.”

Kuroko became more and more distraught with every harsh sentence that each of the Sisters said against her.  _ “They just met me, how can they say such things? Does onee-sama really see me that way, as some sort of sexual predator? No, that can’t be, they’re just exaggerating!”  _ She turned back to Mikoto and said, “Onee-sama, it seems your sisters have misunderstood the bond the two of us share! Could you please correct them?”

Mikoto also contemplated her sisters’ words.  _ “Man, when someone else says it like that, it’s pretty damning. I’ve mostly been brushing off her weird behavior, but maybe I shouldn’t have been.”  _ Once Kuroko had asked Mikoto to defend her, Mikoto sighed, “Well, my sisters are being a little harsh, but I honestly can’t disagree with anything they said. Most of the time, you’re a great friend, but it’s really uncomfortable when you go into your pervert mode.” 

Touma had grimaced as he listened to Misaka 10032’s list of Kuroko’s previous actions. He told Kuroko, “Wow, Shirai-san, I knew that you were a little too obsessed with Mikoto, but I never knew you were so depraved.” It was hard for him to listen to the grotesque things she’d done to Mikoto.

Kuroko was furious at the boy for looking down on her and for sealing her teleportation. She glared at him and exclaimed, “Oh, shut up, you troglodyte! I’ve worked so hard to try to get onee-sama to return my love, but all of that was for nothing! You’re just a stupid boy with no manners, but you just came into her life and got her to fall for you without even trying, and now I have to sit back and watch you defile her in front of me!” 

Upon hearing the girl’s tirade, Misaka 10032 stepped up towards Kuroko. “Misaka will not let you insult the boy, asserts Misaka 10032, angry about your attitude. He has saved Misaka’s life and helped her adjust to her new life, so she will not tolerate your jealousy-fueled comments, firmly states Misaka 10032.”

“Your claim about the boy having no manners is false, retorts Misaka 10039. He is always kind and friendly with us, as well as with Big Sister. If there’s anyone with bad manners, it’s you, exclaims Misaka 10039.” 

“Furthermore, the boy is a great match for Big Sister. He takes good care of her and makes her happy, argues Misaka 19090. Since you’re her best friend, you should be happy for her, argues Misaka 19090.”

“Yes, it shouldn’t be surprising that Big Sister chose the boy who saved her life and treats her like a regular girl over the girl who puts her on a pedestal and constantly harasses her, contends Misaka 13577.” 

Kuroko paled at the verbal barrage she received from the Misaka sisters. She was still reeling from finding out that they all seemed to despise her, but she couldn’t believe that they were defending Touma so fervently. She looked back at Mikoto with watery eyes and asked, “Onee-sama, why are your sisters bullying me so much? And why do they seem so fond of this troglodyte?”

Mikoto let go of Kuroko and turned to face her, firmly saying, “Kuroko, I thought we already talked about this, but it looks like I have to say it again. You need to stop insulting Touma just because of your obsession with me. But more importantly, you need to leave my sisters alone. Did you know that they were scared about meeting you unless Touma and I were here to protect them from you? And honestly, I’ve been tolerating your behavior for long enough. I do value you as a friend, but now that I’m in a relationship, I’m drawing the line. No more groping, no more sneaking into my bed or the shower, no more stealing my underwear.”

Kuroko froze as Mikoto scolded her, and was only able to weakly stutter, “B-but…”

Mikoto sharply continued, “No buts! I’m serious, Kuroko. My sisters are right, your behavior is not acceptable.”

Uiharu had been silently listening to the conversation so far, but she now decided to speak up, “Yeah, Shirai-san, I think 13577-san has a good point. As a Judgement officer, you’re not really setting a great example. And it’s a bit awkward watching you constantly make moves on Misaka-san.”

Saten nodded, “Yeah, honestly, it sometimes gets a little uncomfortable watching you harass Misaka-san, forcing her to shock you to defend herself. Like 19090-san said, I don’t think I’d be able to handle a roommate that behaved like that.”

Kuroko looked down, trying hard to hold back her tears. “Well, I guess that’s what all of you really think of me.”

Touma took this opportunity to finally let go of Kuroko’s wrist, figuring she was no longer in the mood to try anything. He felt a little bad for her, though he agreed that she needed this wake-up call.

Mikoto sighed, a bit annoyed at her self-pitying attitude, but she didn’t want her friend to feel so down. She said, “Kuroko, you’re my best friend. We live together, you’re the friend I’ve known the longest, and we’ve been though a lot together. I do want to keep being best friends, and I don’t mind doing things that friends do. But could you please respect my boundaries?”

Kuroko frowned, a little reluctant to answer the girl, knowing her decision would be final. But after a few moments, she replied, “All right, onee-sama, I promise I’ll try my best.” 

Mikoto smiled at her, “I’m glad to hear that, Kuroko!” She wasn’t sure if the girl would end up following through, but it was at least a step in the right direction.

Now that that issue had been resolved, Uiharu turned to the Misaka sisters and asked, “So, do you guys have abilities?”

“Yes, each Misaka is a Level 2 or 3 Electromaster, though the four of us are all Level 3, answers Misaka 10032.

Saten mused out loud, “So, you all have a similar ability to Misaka-san. I heard that they were trying to make Level 5 clones, though.”

“We were originally intended to be created as Level 5 clones for military use, but it proved too difficult to raise all of us to Level 5, explains Misaka 13577. Therefore, we only have a small fraction of the power Big Sister has.”

Mikoto didn’t want them to be so self-deprecating, so she retorted, “Hey, don’t sell yourself short, 13577-chan. The Misaka Network is a pretty powerful thing!”

Uiharu asked, “The Misaka Network? What’s that? Is it something that involves all of the clones?”

“That is correct, all Misakas are connected via the Misaka Network, answers Misaka 10039. Since we all have the same brainwave pattern, we can all telepathically communicate with each other, even when we are across the world from each other. Furthermore, we share a common memory, and we can pool our brains to get a higher capacity for calculations. Therefore, we can very quickly store and share information.”

Saten was really impressed, “Wow, that’s really cool! That’s sort of like the Level Upper Network, though I assume you don’t fall into comas as a result. Do you also get a power boost like the Level Upper users did?”

Mikoto winced,  _ “I wish they’d only fallen into temporary comas. That would’ve been much much better than what actually happened.” _

“No, since we naturally have the same brain waves, we are not in danger of falling into comas, so you don’t need to worry about that, reassures Misaka 19090. We are indeed stronger than we would be individually due to the Misaka Network.”

Uiharu then pointed at the top of Misaka 10032’s head and asked, “Hey, 10032-san, why do you all wear those goggles?” She had immediately noticed the goggles when she first saw the Sisters, so she was curious as to their purpose.

“Unlike Big Sister, Misaka cannot visualize electromagnetic field lines, so she must use these goggles to see them, answers Misaka 10032. They have been extremely helpful when Misaka has been in combat, adds Misaka 10032, revealing some of her background.”

Uiharu nodded, “Oh yes, you were originally created for military use, so that makes sense.”

Kuroko then remembered an important detail and said, “Wait, was that you in the underground mall with the submachine gun?”

“Yes, that is correct. Misaka was chasing after the control tower, who had brazenly stolen her goggles, recalls Misaka 10032 with some irritation.”

Kuroko was a bit confused, replying, “The control tower?” Her description implied that Misaka 10032 had been chasing after another person.

Mikoto enlightened her, “Oh, 10032-chan was chasing after Last Order. Uiharu-san, she’s the little girl you met the other day. She’s the 20,001th Sister and the control tower of the Misaka Network.”

Uiharu was a little surprised by that. “Really, that childish little girl controls the Misaka Network? She did seem pretty smart for her age, but I wouldn’t have expected that.”

Kuroko returned to her original topic, inquiring, “Why did you even have a submachine gun in the first place, 10032-san?”

“Each Misaka was issued firearms for use in combat, and we were able to keep them even after the experiment was over, answers Misaka 10032. By the way, Big Sister, is it okay for Misaka to shoot this girl in self-defense if she tries sexually harassing her again, wonders Misaka 10032, worried about how to protect herself.” 

Mikoto quickly replied, “No, you can’t shoot her! At least not with lethal bullets.” She turned to Kuroko and continued, “Besides, that won’t be necessary, right Kuroko?” She gave her friend a piercing gaze as she said this.

Kuroko nervously gulped, “Of c-course not, onee-sama!” She had already resolved to stop harassing Mikoto and her sisters, but this only made her more resolved to not risk the consequences.

Mikoto gave her a sharp nod and replied, “Good!” She sincerely hoped that Kuroko was actually serious, since otherwise she’d have to keep Kuroko and her sisters separated.

Saten then decided to bring up the other item that each Misaka sister was wearing. “By the way, those are some really pretty necklaces!”

“Thank you, they were gifts from the boy and Big Sister, reveals Misaka 13577. They let us distinguish ourselves from each other and remind us that we have people who care about us.”

Saten smiled at the Sisters and said, “Wow, that’s really sweet! And they definitely help me tell you guys apart!”

“Oh, that reminds Misaka, there’s something she still has to do, recalls Misaka 10032.” She headed towards Touma and pulled him into a hug. “Thank you for giving Misaka this necklace, and for everything else you’ve done for her, says Misaka 10032 as she hugs you.”

Touma blushed, feeling a little embarrassed that this was happening in front of Mikoto’s friends. Nevertheless, he wrapped his arms around her waist, replying, “You’re welcome, 10032-chan!” He nervously looked at his girlfriend, a bit worried about her reaction, but Mikoto was merely smirking at him. After all, she had already seen him hug her sisters multiple times, and she’d told Misaka 10032 that she didn’t mind them hugging.

As Touma and Misaka 10032 separated, Kuroko had her mouth agape. She couldn’t believe that one of Mikoto’s sisters just hugged him so casually. Not only that, Mikoto seemed to have no reaction at all! She said to Mikoto, “Onee-sama, are you just going to let him get away with doing that?”

Mikoto shrugged, “What, it’s just a hug. There’s nothing wrong with friends hugging, right? I’ve already seen him hug the other three as well.”

Kuroko then glared at Touma and said, “You have no idea how lucky you are, you troglodyte.” Not only did he get to date her onee-sama, he was apparently allowed to hug all of her beautiful sisters as well!

Touma grimaced, “I’m not really that lucky in general, but I am lucky to have Biri-Biri and her sisters in my life.”

Saten grinned, saying, “Aww, that’s so sweet! Shirai-san, I think it’s great that he’s close with her sisters. It’s good to get along with your girlfriend’s family, after all!”

Kuroko just groaned, realizing that everyone else seemed to see no problems with this.

Uiharu turned to Mikoto and brought up the original reason for the visit, “So Misaka-san, your sisters were involved with that incident with Accelerator back in late August right?”

Mikoto immediately tensed up. She’d known that she would be telling them the whole story during this visit, but they’d put it off so far while her friends got introduced to her sisters. But the moment of truth had finally come. She replied, “Yes, and I think we should all sit down for this. I have to warn you though, it’s going to be a pretty traumatizing story.”

Mikoto’s friends quickly noted her serious tone. Saten and Uiharu were a bit surprised that this was apparently a traumatizing event for Mikoto, but Kuroko was not. Though her roommate had often not been home during that time, whenever she had been, Kuroko had clearly seen the toll it had taken on her. Kuroko had wanted to know what had happened to Mikoto ever since then, and now it was finally her chance.

Mikoto turned to her sister and asked, “Are you guys okay with being around as I tell them? It might be traumatizing for you too.”

“Yes, we’d like to stay. Each of us already remembers every single moment of the experiment in full detail, so merely talking about it is not a problem, justifies Misaka 10032. In addition, Misaka played a key role in the ending of the experiment, so she would like to tell her part of the story, adds Misaka 10032.”

Mikoto grimly nodded, “All right then.” It was finally time for her friends to learn the full truth of what happened in late August. 


	17. Learning the Truth

Everyone in the room took their seats as Mikoto prepared to begin her story. Mikoto sat on the couch between Touma and Misaka 10032, who in turn sat next to the other three Sisters, while Mikoto’s friends sat in chairs.

Mikoto then began, “So I guess this all started when I started hearing people talk about someone who looked like me appearing around Academy City. At first, I thought that it was just them seeing things, but like Saten-san said, there were also those rumors of Level 5 clones.”

Saten nodded, “Yeah, and around that time, I’m pretty sure I saw someone who looked like you, Misaka-san.”

Mikoto then continued, “Anyway, I was a bit concerned about those rumors. I remembered how I gave my DNA map to a research group to help cure muscular dystrophy. That project was shut down, so at first, I just figured that nothing came of it.”

Uiharu wondered, “What happened next? Did something happen that caused you to look into it?”

Mikoto replied, “Yeah, remember all those money cards that people were finding in alleyways? I overheard some thugs talk about finding the person behind them, so I followed them and met that person. She was pretty vague about why she was doing it, but she said she was using those cash cards to lure people into the alleyways, which would prevent experiments from taking place in them.”

Saten’s eyes widened, “Woah, that’s why she was giving away so much money? I guess those experiments she was trying to stop involved your sisters?”

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, her outfit had a Nagatenjouki Academy logo, so afterwards, I hacked into their database to look her up. It turned out that she was a talented biopsychologist, and she worked at the research facility I gave my DNA map to.”

Kuroko then deduced, “So then she was probably involved in the experiment that created your sisters?”

Mikoto said, “Yes, she was, and she confirmed it to me later. Anyway, I then broke into that research facility and found out about the Radio Noise project. Like 1357-chan said before, the plan was to create Level 5 clones for the military. But apparently the Tree Diagram calculated that they would end up as Level 2 or 3 instead, so the project was suspended.”

Kuroko’s eyes widened, “Onee-sama, you broke into a research facility? Is that why you were gone every night?” She was very shocked to hear Mikoto admit to breaking the law so casually.

Mikoto nervously laughed, “Yeah, sort of. So the next day I was back to normal, thinking that nothing had ended up happening with my DNA map. But late that afternoon, after I finished playing with some kids, I sensed something that was very similar to my own ability. I turned around, and it was like I was looking into a mirror! I saw a girl who looked exactly like me!”

“Ah yes, that was when you met Misaka 9982, recalls Misaka 10032 as she thinks back to that fateful night.”

Mikoto nodded, “That was the first time I met one of my sisters. At first, I was a little scared that she was part of a sinister plot to replace me or something, like in all those sci-fi movies. But she turned out to be really silly. She made me help her get a kitten down from a tree, she kept snickering about how ‘kitty kitty’ sounds almost the same backwards, and she ate my ice cream when I wasn’t looking. But I’m pretty sure she was doing those things to distract me, since it always happened when I tried asking her about who created her and why she was created.”

“You’re correct in your hunch. Misaka 9982 did not want you to get involved in the experiment, Big Sister, explains Misaka 10039.”

Mikoto agreed, “Yeah, I figured as much. And when she did actually answer me, she said it was classified information and asked about a password.”

Uiharu remembered that night when her friend had called her, “Wait, is that the password you asked me about when you called me? The one for high-level information”

Mikoto answered, “Yeah, that’s right. So anyway, it started to get dark, and I was trying to follow her back to her lab so I could meet her creators. But she told me she was going to an experiment that night instead. So as I was about to leave, a Gekota pin fell out of my pocket. I put it on her vest to see how it would look on me. She said it was lame but still wanted to keep it since it was a gift from me.”

Saten cooed at this piece of information, “Aww, that’s really sweet! She wanted to keep a present from her Big Sister.”

Mikoto then had a bittersweet smile on her face, “Yeah, you know, we hung out for quite some time. And even though she got on my nerves a lot, it really felt like we were sisters. After that, she said farewell to me, and I left.” Thinking back on that moment, the girl now realized that Misaka 9982’s farewell had had a tone of finality to it. Mikoto felt tears beginning to form in her eyes as she internally berated herself for not noticing the obvious signs.

Kuroko sensed from the girl’s tone that something major had occurred afterwards. She asked with a bit of worry, “What happened then, onee-sama?”

Mikoto frowned and continued, “I called Uiharu-san, who told me that the password was for high-level information.” At this point, she started tensing up a bit, due to what was coming up next. “So I hacked into Academy City’s systems and found what kind of experiment she was really doing. I then headed towards the location as fast as I could.”

Touma noticed that Mikoto was starting to shake. He knew the fate that befell Misaka 9982, and that his girlfriend would have a tough time saying it out loud. He grabbed onto her hand and gently squeezed it. When she looked up at him, he smiled at her and said, “I’m here, Biri-Biri.”

The girl smiled back at him, touched that he was trying to comfort her. But she had to continue. “When I got to the location, an abandoned railway yard, I saw…” She started choking up, “...I saw her on the ground, with her leg torn off, desperately crawling away from Accelerator.”

Kuroko, Saten, and Uiharu were all horrified by this revelation, and its obvious implication. Uiharu was perhaps the most affected, questioning how the guy who had saved her could be capable of such a thing. She replied, “Misaka-san, do you mean...?”

Mikoto could no longer hold back her tears, “And then, he...he dropped a railway carriage on top of her!”

This statement, as well as her reaction, left absolutely no room for doubt. Accelerator had murdered Misaka 9982. Mikoto’s friends were all deeply affected, and they all felt like throwing up. Even though Kuroko and Uiharu were Judgement officers, they’d never seen someone die in front of them. But their friend had to see the brutal killing of someone who looked exactly like her. They had previously speculated on what Mikoto could have been dealing with in late August, but they could never have imagined something like this.

“By the way, Misaka 9982 wasn’t crawling to get away from Accelerator, reports Misaka 13577. The present you gave her had fallen off, so she was trying to retrieve it before she died. She did succeed in doing that, adds Misaka 13577, hoping to make you feel a little better.”

Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect. Mikoto started sobbing as she realized that Misaka 9982’s last thoughts were not about trying to save her own life, but about retrieving a present from her older sister, the older sister who had failed to save her. 

Touma wrapped his arm around his girlfriend’s shoulders. He rubbed circles on her shoulder and softly said to her, “Hey, do you want to maybe take a break? You don’t need to push yourself too hard.” He was worried that she would break down by retelling those traumatizing events.

Mikoto shook her head and began to wipe her tears, “No, it’s okay. I can continue.” She took some time to dry her face before resuming, “Anyway, when I saw that, I just went berserk. I threw every attack I had, including my railgun, directly at him. But he just reflected all of them. There was absolutely nothing I could do. He was about to counterattack, but then hundreds of Misakas showed up and told him not to attack me, since it could interfere with the experiment.”

Uiharu trembled as she asked, “Wh-what sort of experiment was this?” 

Mikoto grimly replied, “That’s exactly what I found out when I hacked into that database, and why I rushed over as quickly as I could. It was called the Level 6 Shift Experiment.”

Saten’s eyes widened, and she said, “L-Level 6 Shift? What, were they trying to make Accelerator a Level 6? Is that even possible?” After all, Level 5 was the highest level any esper reached, and a hypothetical Level 6 esper would potentially have godlike powers.

Mikoto nodded, “That was the plan. They used the Tree Diagram to calculate what it would take. If Accelerator engaged in combat with and killed Railgun 128 times, that would apparently be enough for him to reach Level 6.”

Her friends all felt chills down their spines as she so casually talked about herself being killed multiple times. They also noticed the detached way she used her epithet to refer to herself.

Saten asked, “How...how could anyone even come up with such a monstrous idea? And how could a bunch of scientists all go along with it?”

Mikoto grimly told her, “Unfortunately, a lot of the scientists of Academy City don’t seem to have any morals.”

Her friends all knew how true that was. After all, there were all those Child Errors who were put into a coma during an experiment. That was just one example, so in retrospect, it wasn’t too surprising that there were many others. 

Kuroko then made a key observation, “Wait, but there aren’t 128 of you. So they had to create clones of you?”

Mikoto answered, “That’s right, but since they aren’t Level 5, the Tree Diagram calculated that exactly 20,000 of them would be needed.”

Uiharu then said, “So if that was Misaka 9982, does that mean that...that he had already killed 9981 of them before then?”

Mikoto looked down and said, “That’s right. I couldn’t understand why he was even going through with that insane plan when he was already untouchable. But most of all, I didn’t get why my sisters were willingly going through with it.”

“We’re really sorry that we caused you so much distress, Big Sister. From the moment we were created, our only purpose was to die in the experiments, and we didn’t yet realize that our lives had any value, recounts Misaka 10032.”

Mikoto then replied, “It’s okay, 10032-chan. Anyway, after that night, I knew I couldn’t take Accelerator head-on, so I tried to find another way to stop the experiments. Thanks to my hacking, I had a list of labs that were involved in the experiment. So, I started shutting them down, first by hacking them remotely, and then by physically attacking them when they locked me out electronically.”

Kuroko’s eyes widened as she realized, “So that’s why you were gone every night! You never told me what was going on, and I was so worried about you, onee-sama. To think you were committing acts of terrorism.”

Mikoto rolled her eyes, “Please, I didn’t even lay a finger on any of the monsters who were running that cruel experiment. I only destroyed equipment and data. I did this every single night, barely eating or sleeping. At one of the last facilities, there was this mercenary group I had to fight, and I barely escaped alive! There was a blonde girl who rigged the entire place with explosives and was really good at close-quarters combat. I was barely able to stop her, especially since I was so physically and mentally exhausted. And then I had to take on the 4th Ranked Level 5, Meltdowner, and I was only able to get away from her by using a bunch of bombs that her teammate had left behind.”

Kuroko then recalled a past encounter, “Wait, were those the two girls you were arguing with at Joseph’s? The blonde one, I think her name was Frenda, kept saying that her friend Mugino would beat you in a fight.”

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, that was them. We were lucky that they didn’t decide to attack us.”

Saten’s eyes widened, “Wait, the blonde girl’s name was Frenda? Was she a short girl who wore a beret?” 

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, have you met her before, Saten-san?” It seemed that her friend was familiar with Frenda, which immediately worried her.

Saten replied, “Yeah, I actually met her a couple of weeks ago. She’d wanted the mackerel I had bought, which were the last cans in the store. We became friends, and she even saved me when I got kidnapped. But I haven’t seen her since that time in the mall, when we were running away from someone who was shooting at her.”

Mikoto was really surprised, “Wait, that’s the new friend you told us about?” She and the rest of Saten’s friends were familiar with Saten’s ordeal at the mall, but Saten had never gone into detail about her new friend. 

Saten nodded, “Yeah, I could tell that she lived in a different world than me, but I didn’t know that she was a mercenary or that she’d tried to kill you!” She now felt a bit conflicted about having been friends with Frenda.

Mikoto replied, “It’s okay, you didn’t know, and it’s not like she wanted to kill me for personal reasons. She saved you from a kidnapper, so I guess she’s not completely heartless.”

Saten then frowned, “Yeah, I guess so. You know, I haven’t heard from her in a while. She was supposed to come over for dinner a few days ago, but she never showed up, and she hasn’t messaged me since then. I’ve been worried about what happened to her.”

Mikoto grimly replied, “I’m sorry, Saten-san, but it’s possible she might be dead. She has a very dangerous line of work, after all.” Mikoto had been too nice to kill Frenda for withholding information, but other enemies of her were probably not as merciful.

Saten looked down, “Yeah, I though that might be true as well. I just wish I knew what happened to her.” She sighed and then said, “Anyway, what happened after your nighttime raids on the labs, Misaka-san?”

Mikoto continued her story, “Yeah, so after that night, I had destroyed all the labs on the list, so I figured the experiment would be stopped. I ran into Touma the next day by the vending machine. Kuroko showed up for a bit and left, and then Misaka 10031 showed up in front of me and him.”

Touma nodded, remembering that encounter quite well, “Oh yeah, you looked pretty frustrated when you saw her, and then you took her away to have a private talk. What happened after that?”

Mikoto’s eyes became watery again, “She told me that the experiments were continuing, even after I destroyed all those labs! I later found out that they had transferred the data to over a hundred other labs. I had wasted all that time and effort, and 48 more of my sisters had died. I was so mad at myself for letting that happen, and I...I even started to get mad at my sisters for willingly going to their deaths. She even asked if I was okay, but I snapped and told her to go away. And after she left, I just completely broke down.”

Her friends were astounded that all her effort had apparently been for nought, and they could feel the pain she had gone through in that moment. 

“Misaka 10031 regretted that you were in such distress, and she wanted to cheer you up by pointing out a cute kitty hiding in the bushes, reports Misaka 10032, adding some information.”

Mikoto sniffled, desperately trying to hold back her tears. “All of you cared so much about me, I’m so sorry I couldn’t have done more for you.”

Touma squeezed her shoulder and softly said, “Don’t say that, Mikoto, you have done a lot for them!” It broke his heart so much to see his girlfriend blame herself. He watched as she wiped the tears out of her eyes, waiting a bit for her to recover. 

He then smiled and continued, “But you’re right about one thing. Even though your sisters were programmed for the experiment, they were always kind to others. I ran into 10032-chan soon after that, and she helped me carry home all those cans you gave me from the vending machine and even got rid of the fleas on my cat.”

“Misaka was taught how to be polite, explains Misaka 10032. You were struggling with those cans, and those two girls were suggesting dangerous methods to remove the fleas, recalls Misaka 10032, justifying her actions.”

Mikoto wondered,  _ “Two girls? I guess Index and one of her friends?”  _ Not wanting to derail the conversation, she said, “Anyway, once I found out that they were transferring data to a bunch of new labs, I realized something big. There was no way Academy City, with all its surveillance, was not aware of the experiment. And since it still kept going on, that meant that the experiment must have been approved by the higher ups of the city.”

Kuroko’s eyes widened, “So that’s why you asked me what I’d do if you ever attacked Academy City. But how could the city possibly be supportive of something like this?” As a Judgement Officer, she was supposed to uphold the laws of the city. There was no way that the city could be allowing these sorts of experiments. But she couldn’t refute Mikoto’s reasoning. That fact that the destruction of all those facilities hadn’t been reported, not even to Judgement, could only mean that Academy City was covering it up.

Uiharu was similarly conflicted, though she noted, “Well, we already knew that there’s a darker side to Academy City. All those Child Errors were used as subjects for experiments too. But this is something on a whole other level of magnitude!”

Mikoto added, “Yeah, from what I can tell, the higher-ups here treat all the espers as lab rats. I thought I would have to fight against all of Academy City, but they didn’t seem to react much to me destroying those facilities. Anyway, since that hadn’t worked, there was one last idea I came up with. I figured I could hack into the Tree Diagram to make it seem like the experiment wouldn’t lead to a Level 6 after all. Then, they would’ve had no choice but to cancel the experiment. But when I got to the Information Processing Center, it was completely abandoned, and it turned out that the Tree Diagram had somehow already been destroyed.”

Saten’s eyes widened, “Woah, the Tree Diagram was destroyed? How did that happen? Is that why the weather forecasts have been less accurate lately?”

Mikoto gave Touma a glance and answered, “I don’t know how it happened. Afterwards, I just went on a pointless rampage at another nearby facility.” She braced herself and was able to stop herself from crying as she continued, “While I was there, I saw surveillance footage of Accelerator and Misaka 10031. He...he leaned down towards her, and right afterwards, blood just splattered on the camera.”

“Oh, that happened because Accelerator reversed her blood flow vectors, causing her entire body to explode, explains Misaka 10039.”

Touma and Mikoto, having witnessed Misaka 10031’s death previously, only became a little nauseous, but Kuroko, Saten, and Uiharu had to cover their mouths to prevent themselves from throwing up. They shivered as they imagined the brutal scene.

“Misaka thinks that explaining each of the deaths is causing severe distress to Big Sister, the boy, and her friends, hypothesizes Misaka 19090.”

“We’re sorry for that. We all remember every detail of all 10,031 deaths, so we wanted to explain in case you wanted to know, replies Misaka 10032.”

Uiharu asked in horror, “You...you remember all of them?”

“Yes, like Misaka said before, all Misakas share a common memory, so we retain even the memories of the dead Misakas, answers Misaka 10039.” 

Saten, after taking some time to regain her composure, asked, “Are you guys okay? It must be hard remembering that many deaths. I can barely hold myself together after just hearing about two of them.”

“Misaka sometimes feels a little fearful when remembering the deaths, though it’s easier now that she knows she is safe, replies Misaka 19090. But this Misaka has had more human emotions programmed into her, compared to the other Misakas, clarifies Misaka 19090.”

“The remaining Misakas have a difficult time feeling emotions, including fear and trauma, though we are slowly progressing towards developing them, explains Misaka 13577.”

Touma then said, “Maybe it’s a good thing you guys aren’t traumatized by them. When I saw Misaka 10031’s dead body in the alley, I actually threw up and screamed.”

Mikoto turned to him and recalled, “Oh yeah, you said before that you had found her body. So I guess you were nearby when Accelerator killed her?”

Touma replied, “Unfortunately, I didn’t find her until she was actually dead. I was with 10032-chan, and I had gone into a bookstore to get a book to help her raise a cat she’d found. However, when I came out, she was gone, so I went looking for her in the alleyway across from the bookstore. I saw a shoe and broken goggles, and then found the body. I actually reported it to Anti-Skill, but by the time they got there, everything was cleaned up, and the surveillance camera footage was erased.”

“Yes, we cleaned up the scene and used our abilities to erase the camera footage, explains Misaka 10032.” 

Kuroko shook with anger, “So not only were you being killed in this grotesque experiment, you were even tasked with cleaning up the crime scenes? The scientists behind it all are absolutely disgusting!”

Touma then said, “Yeah, they definitely are. Anyway, after Anti-Skill left, I went deeper into the alleys and ran into 10032-chan. I was initially relieved that she was still alive, but then she told me that I was correct about the death. I then noticed that she was carrying a body bag.”

The boy was now trembling a little, and Mikoto tried to calm him down by rubbing his knee. He smiled at her, and then continued, “She told me that she was serial number 10032, but the dead Misaka was number 10031. Then hundreds of other Misakas appeared surrounding me and said that they were just doing an experiment. I tried asking them about it, but they said it was classified. After they left, I tried to figure out what sort of experiment would involve one of them dying and if Mikoto knew about it.”

He’d already told Mikoto that he’d briefly suspected her participation in the experiment, but was glad when he realized she was fighting against it. Nevertheless, Mikoto still winced a little, since it was her decision to give up her DNA map that caused all this.

Touma continued, “I wanted to talk to her as soon as possible, so I headed for her Tokiwadai dorm.” 

Saten raised an eyebrow and said, “You went to Misaka-san’s dorm? I thought boys weren’t allowed in the Tokiwadai dorms?”

Kuroko then replied, “You’re correct about that, Saten-san, but this guy didn’t care about rules like that. Onee-sama wasn’t present when he asked to see her, but I let him into our room because I thought he might know where she’d been during the previous nights. Unfortunately, I had to distract the dorm manager to stop her from discovering him, and by the time I returned, he was already gone.”

Touma said, “Sorry about that, but I didn’t have any time to talk. I found some hidden documents Mikoto had about the experiment, and I left to find her as fast as I could, since 10032-chan was scheduled very soon.”

Mikoto already knew about his visit to her room, so she asked, “How exactly did you find me so quickly?”

Touma chuckled, “I just followed the turning windmills. There wasn’t any wind that night, so only you could have caused them to turn. And I’m really glad I found you in time!”

Mikoto smiled at him and softly replied, “Yeah, me too. I was about to do something really stupid.”

Kuroko remembered her onee-sama saying that to her before. She asked, “What were you about to do?”

Mikoto looked down at her lap with a frown, “I was really desperate. I couldn’t touch Accelerator, destroying all those facilities was useless, my last-ditch effort with the Tree Diagram didn’t work out, and my Sisters were dying day by day. I knew that the scientists were using the previous Tree Diagram data but couldn’t update it, so I wanted to somehow disprove their calculations. That way, since they couldn’t recalculate, they’d be forced to end the experiment.”

Saten nodded, “That sounds like a pretty good idea! So what did you come up with?”

Mikoto hesitated for a bit, but eventually replied, “They calculated that, even if I tried my best against Accelerator, I would lose in 185 moves. By killing Railgun 128 times, Accelerator would reach Level 6, but since my Sisters were lower levelled, he would need to kill 20,000 of them.” 

Her friends weren’t quite sure where she was going with this, but they could tell from her tone that it was going to be unpleasant.

The girl continued, “But what if I wasn’t worth that much in terms of experience points? If I lost to Accelerator immediately, the scientists would think that I’m so weak that battling my sisters wouldn’t help Accelerator advance to Level 6 at all.”

Kuroko paled as she realized the implication of what Mikoto was saying. “Onee-sama, surely you don’t mean…” She trailed off, not wanting to say the words out loud.

Mikoto grimly nodded, “Yes, I was going to let myself die against Accelerator. After all, I was the one who caused this all to happen in the first place, so I figured that if giving up my life would save 9,969 lives, it would be worth it.”

Her friends all felt their hearts drop as Mikoto declared her past intention. This was not some sort of joke, they could tell that their friend had been completely serious about giving up her own life. And since Mikoto hadn’t told them about her struggles, if she had gone through with her plan, they would’ve only found out when her death was reported in the news. All of them had tears in their eyes, but Kuroko was the most affected. She couldn’t stop herself from crying and angrily asked, “Onee-sama, how could you even think of doing that? Didn’t you think about how we would feel when we learned about it?”

Mikoto flinched at her friend’s critique, but she knew Kuroko had a point. “I’m really sorry, guys. I wasn’t in a good place at the time. I thought I was a villain who deserved to die anyway. But fortunately, Touma showed up and stopped me from going through with that plan.” She recalled how she shocked him multiple times, and how he kept getting back up, until she just couldn’t go through with it anymore. 

Touma replied, “Yeah, she was pretty stubborn, but eventually I came up with another way to stop the experiment so she wouldn’t have to die. I would just have to be the one fighting against Accelerator instead. I promised Mikoto that I would bring her sisters back safely and give everyone a happy ending.”

Saten nodded as she recalled, “That’s right, you guys told us about that the other day. So then you went to fight Accelerator, right?”

Touma answered, “Yeah, and I got there just in time, because his battle against 10032-chan had already started. If I’d gotten there any later, she might have died by then.”

“Misaka was very surprised to see you appear at that abandoned railway yard, replies Misaka 10032. She had hoped you wouldn’t get dragged into the experiment, and she didn’t understand why you would risk your life for a clone that could be easily replaced. But you told Misaka that she was the only one of her in the entire world, continues Misaka as she remembers a fond memory.” As she said this, she clutched onto her heart-shaped necklace.

Mikoto’s friends now saw just how strongly Misaka 10032 felt about Touma. He had saved all the Sisters by defeating Accelerator, but she was the one he had directly saved. Kuroko began to understand why Mikoto and her sisters were so fond of him.

Mikoto turned to the boy with a smile and said, “Thank you for telling her that. You always know just the right words to say to get through to someone, and I’m glad you were there for her in that moment.”

Touma’s cheeks reddened at her praise, and he replied, “Yeah, me too.”

Kuroko then said, “I remember that there was a huge wind storm that night, and I found one of your coins at that railway yard, onee-sama. Was that a result of the fight?”

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, Touma was actually winning against Accelerator thanks to his ability. But then he was knocked onto the ground, and Accelerator started controlling all the wind in the city, and he actually managed to turn it into plasma.”

Uiharu’s eyes widened, “P-plasma? That’s terrifying!”

Mikoto agreed, “Yeah, and he was going to launch it all at Touma. I tried to think of a way to stop it, and I realized that turning the windmills around the city would disrupt his calculations.”

“Yes, that is when Big Sister requested Misaka to use her and the other Misakas’ abilities to manipulate the turning of the windmills, remembers Misaka 10032. She also stood between Misaka and Accelerator when he realized we were disrupting the wind.”

Mikoto grinned at her, “Of course, I couldn’t let him harm you any more than he already had!”

“You were so brave, Big Sister, exclaims Misaka 10032. Misaka finally realized her own worth when she found out that you and the boy would cry if Misaka died, reports Misaka 10032 with gratitude.”

Touma then said, “Of course, 10032-chan! And you guys really saved my life there too! Thanks to you, I had enough time to stand up, and I was able to finish off Accelerator!”

Mikoto then chuckled, “Yeah, but he also fell unconscious right after, so he still had to go to the hospital. But in the end, he kept his promise. The experiments ended, my sisters were saved, and everyone went home happy.”

Her friends were all relieved that there was mostly a happy ending. However, Uiharu felt pretty conflicted, “Wow, I had no idea that Accelerator was a mass murderer. It seemed like he was very protective of Last Order, and he did save me, so I never thought he could have that kind of past.”

Kuroko then wondered, “If he killed over ten thousand people, why is he still walking around freely? Shouldn’t he be arrested?” She found it really appalling that Accelerator was apparently not facing any justice for his crimes.

Mikoto sighed, “Yeah, I sort of feel the same way. But Academy City was behind the experiment in the first place, and they’re not going to imprison their strongest esper anyway. And like Uiharu-san saw, it seems he’s changed. He actually saved Last Order and the other Sisters from a virus. It seems that Last Order has taken a liking to him, and he’s decided to protect her. It doesn’t make up for his crimes, but at least it’s a step in the right direction.”

Saten then said, “That sort of makes sense, but it sucks that he won’t get punished for what he did to your sisters and to you. But Misaka-san, if Academy City was behind the experiments, surely they know that you and Kamijou-san stopped it, right? Why haven’t they retaliated against you?”

Mikoto answered, “I’m not completely sure, but we think it’s actually possible that they expected the experiment to end at some point. Afterwards, they sent my sisters all around the world, and Academy City could definitely have uses for having the Misaka Network spread around the globe.”

Uiharu asked, “Wait, so your sisters aren’t all in Academy City anymore?”

“That is correct, there are only ten Misakas left in Academy City, including us four, answers Misaka 10039. However, thanks to the Misaka Network, we can easily keep in touch with each other, further explains Misaka 10039.”

Mikoto said, “Yeah, I’m a little sad I won’t be able to meet all of them, but it’s good that they all get the chance to live their own lives.” 

At this point, Mikoto took a deep breath, stood up, and walked towards where her friends were sitting. She bowed to them and said, “Saten-san, Uiharu-san, and Kuroko, I’m really sorry I kept this from you guys. You were all worried about me, and I didn’t let you know what was going on.”

Saten got up and hugged Mikoto, saying, “It’s okay, Misaka-san. I’m just glad you got the help you and your sisters needed!”

Uiharu then stook up and hugged them both, adding, “Yes, we wished we could help you with your problem, but I understand why you wanted to try to solve it by yourself. I’m just happy everything ended up okay.”

Mikoto smiled as well, glad that they forgave her, “Thanks, guys!” The three of them continued hugging for a bit longer before separating.

Kuroko then stood up and hugged Mikoto, who wrapped her arms around her best friend. After a pause, Kuroko said, “Onee-sama, I’m sorry that I wasn’t strong enough to help you when you were in such distress. I’m so glad that you came home safe and sound.”

Mikoto gave her best friend a smile and replied, “No Kuroko, I was the one that wasn’t strong enough. Thank you for waiting so patiently for me until I came back.”

Touma smiled at the heartwarming scene. He was happy that Mikoto had finally been able to confide in her friends about her struggles. 

Afterwards, they all said goodbye to the Sisters and headed out of the hospital. Touma was about to say goodbye to Mikoto and her friends when Kuroko walked up to the two of them.

Mikoto was a bit puzzled and said, “Is something wrong, Kuroko?”

She bowed towards Touma, saying, “Kamijou-san, thank you for saving onee-sama’s life and relieving her struggles. Because of you, she was no longer troubled and unhappy. I now understand why she feels so strongly about you and why she’s so happy whenever she’s around you.”

Toum was really surprised by her sudden change of mind. She had been really resistant to their relationship, but it seemed that the story behind Mikoto’s sisters had made a deep impression on her. He nervously rubbed his neck and said, “Thanks, Shirai-san.”

Kuroko then narrowed her eyes and said, “You better treat her well, or else I will come after you!”

_ “There’s the Shirai-san I know.”  _ He smiled at her and replied, “Of course, I promise!”

Kuroko sharply nodded, “Good.” She then turned to her friend and said, “Ready to go, onee-sama?”

Mikoto smiled at her friend, happy that Kuroko had finally accepted her relationship. She replied, “Just a moment.”

The girl walked up to Touma, placed her hands on his shoulders, and kissed him. Touma held onto her waist as he kissed her back. Then, the boy pulled her into a hug. He rubbed her back and said softly into her ear, “I’m really proud of you, Mikoto!”

Mikoto blushed and replied, “Th-thanks, Touma!” It had been really hard for her to talk about those events, but now that it was all done, she felt a burden lift off of her shoulders.

As they pulled apart, Mikoto grabbed onto his hands and gently caressed them with her thumbs, saying, “Bye, Touma!”

Touma smiled at her and softly replied, “Bye, Biri-Biri! I’ll see you later.” The two of them then separated, and Mikoto went back to her friends.

Mikoto watched for a bit as her boyfriend headed home, before turning her attention back to her friends. She had previously been really anxious about how they would react to her sisters, but it had actually turned out pretty well. And now that she wasn’t keeping such a big secret from them anymore, Mikoto felt that her bonds with her friends were now much stronger. 

  
  



	18. Itsuwa Returns

As usual, Touma was having an eventful day. His class had been too late to buy food from the school cafeteria, so they had tried breaking out of school to get food from a convenience store. Misfortunate as ever, the burly guidance counselor Saigo had chosen to chase after him, but the man had been subdued by Itsuwa, who had mistook him for Acqua of the Back.

It was now late afternoon, and he was with Itsuwa, who had just informed him that Acqua was coming after him. Touma was a bit doubtful about it, but asked, “So why exactly are you here?” 

Itsuwa enthusiastically answered, “To save you! I’m your bodyguard now, night and day!” She was serious about protecting him from Acqua, but she was also pleased at the chance to constantly be by his side. Plus, in order to guard him at all times, she would have to stay at his dorm, which she was looking forward to.

Touma was a bit confused as to why she was so serious about this. He replied, “Hold on, is that really necessary? And what do you mean, night and day?”

Itsuwa smiled at him and answered, “Isn’t it obvious? It means that I’ll have to stay with you until you’re safe from danger!”

The boy’s eyes widened as he quickly realized the implications. He frantically waved his hands and replied, “Woah, woah, I don’t think that’s a good idea!” Before he could explain further, he was struck in the head by a soccer ball.

Meanwhile, Tatemiya and the rest of Itsuwa’s friends from the Amakusa Church had been watching her conversation with Touma. They all knew about her crush on Touma, and wanted her to be more assertive so that she could get the boy. They were a bit frustrated that Itsuwa was only talking business and not really making a move. Thereform, Tatemiya decided to take matters into his own hands. 

As this was all happening, Mikoto was walking nearby, when she noticed a group of men, one of whom had placed a soccer ball on the ground in front of him. He gave it a strong kick, and Mikoto followed the ball’s path with her eyes. As it approached its target, she saw Touma walking with another girl. She didn’t have any time to wonder who that other girl was before the soccer ball hit Touma in the back of the head, which caused him to fall forward, his face becoming buried in the girl’s breasts.

Before Mikoto could react to that, she heard the men cheering, and she realized that this was their intent all along. She shook with fury and tried shocking them as she angrily said, “What the hell is wrong with you? Is this some sort of twisted prank?” However, all of them somehow disappeared before her shocks could reach them.  _ “They’re gone?” _

She didn’t dwell on that too much, and instead turned her attention back to Touma and the girl he had crashed into. To Mikoto’s annoyance, he was taking some time to extricate himself, holding onto her shoulders and slowly raising his head. She shouted, “Hey, Touma!”

Touma had been a little dazed, which was why he wasn’t immediately pulling back like he normally would in this situation. However, he heard his girlfriend’s voice, he quickly pushed himself away from Itsuwa and nervously said, “H-hey, Mikoto.”

Mikoto tried to keep her temper down, but she still emitted sparks. She frustratedly exclaimed, “Look, I know it’s not your fault you got hit with that soccer ball. But did you really have to take your sweet time removing your face from there?”

Itsuwa saw the sparking girl and thought that she was about to attack Touma. Trying to fulfill her role as his bodyguard, she prepared to extend her spear and shouted, “Watch out, she’s hostile!” 

Touma sighed and replied, “No, she’s my girlfriend.”

Itsuwa’s heart dropped as he casually dropped that bomb. She stammered, “Your g-girlfriend?” That would explain why the other girl looked angry. But she was stunned to hear that Touma had a girlfriend. The last time she saw him, about a week ago in France, he still seemed to be single, and she had planned on getting closer with him as his bodyguard. Suddenly, all those plans had gone out the window.

Touma fearfully approached Mikoto, knowing that he was in trouble. He bowed his head, closed his eyes, and said, “I’m sorry, Biri-Biri.” He expected her to continue scolding him, but instead he heard her sigh and then felt a soft hand rubbing the back of his head.

Mikoto had realized it was silly to stay mad over something that wasn’t his fault at all. It wasn’t surprising that he took some time to reorient himself, since he had literally been hit in the head. She reached out and gently rubbed the spot on his head where the soccer ball had it, softly asking, “Are you okay, Touma?”

The boy opened his eyes and saw that his girlfriend was looking at him with a concerned expression. He blushed and answered, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little dazed, that’s all.”

Mikoto smiled at him and replied, “Thank goodness.” She then glanced at the other girl and asked, “So, who’s this friend of yours?”

Touma answered, “Oh, this is Itsuwa. She was with me when I was in France last week.”

Mikoto then remembered, “Oh yeah, she’s the one you were fighting with against that Terra guy.” She turned to the other girl and said, “Hello, Itsuwa-san, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Misaka Mikoto.”

Itsuwa’s eyes widened. She recognized that name very well, and the sparks the other girl was emitting earlier left now doubt. “Y-you’re the Railgun!” To think that his girlfriend was one of the most powerful espers of Academy City! 

Mikoro replied, “Yeah, that’s me. Anyway, those guys were cheering when that soccer ball hit. What kind of people are they?”

Itsuwa sighed in exasperation, now understanding what happened. “Oh, those were probably my friends. I’m sorry about them, Kamijou.”

Touma rubbed his head and chuckled, “No, that’s okay, it’s not your fault. But why did they do it in the first place?” He was a bit surprised to hear that Itsuwa’s friends from the Amakusa Church had apparently been targeting his head with that soccer ball.

Itsuwa then stammered, “I-I’m not exactly sure, b-but it might have been a p-prank.” Of course, she didn’t want to reveal that their aim was for Touma to get closer to her.

Mikoto’s eyes narrowed in response, because she knew exactly what their aim was. Just like how Saten had once devised an elaborate ruse to get her a dance with Touma, Itsuwa’s friends were also trying to get her together with the boy, though in a more violent way. This meant that Itsuwa was yet another girl who liked Mikoto’s boyfriend. Feeling a little possessive, Mikoto grabbed onto Touma’s hand and suspiciously asked, “So, what were you talking to Touma about, Itsuwa-san?”

Itsuwa could tell that the other girl was a little suspicious about her, so she had to be careful in what she said. She answered, “Oh, I-I was just telling him that Acqua of the Back is after him.” 

Touma then added, “Yeah, and you were saying something about staying with me as my bodyguard, night and day? Like I tried to say earlier, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Mikoto unconsciously gripped harder onto Touma’s hand and said, “Wait, what? Who is Acqua of the Back, and why does Touma need a live-in bodyguard against him in the first place?” She absolutely hated the thought of a second girl living with Touma, even if temporarily, and was glad that he wasn’t just naively accepting it.

Touma replied, “Remember how we fought against Terra of the Left in France? Well, Acqua of the Back is sort of part of the same organization.”

Itsuwa chimed in, “That’s right, he’s a member of the Right Seat of God.”

Mikoto raised her eyebrow, “Right Seat of God? Is that some sort of religious organization or something?” She then started putting some pieces together, continuing, “Wait, did that Terra of the Left have something to do with those religious protests in France? And there was also that attack on Academy City by Catholic forces on September 30. Are those all connected?”

Touma winced a little. He hadn’t yet told his girlfriend about magic, but she would inevitably find out eventually, since he constantly got involved in the Magic Side. Perhaps now was finally time for him to tell her. He admitted, “Well, actually, I fought against a woman called Vento of the Front on the night of September 30. She was the one who had invaded the city and caused all those people to fall into comas.”

This was major news, and Mikoto replied with some annoyance, “Really, you’re only telling me about this now? That’s a pretty big thing to leave out.” 

Touma nervously replied, “Well, it happened before we started dating, and after that, it hasn’t really come up until now.”

Mikoto sighed, “I guess you’re right. You were probably involved in lots of fights I didn’t know about. So, anyway Terra of the Left, Acqua of the Back, and Vento of the Front? Is there also a Fuoco of the Right?”

Itsuwa answered, “Not quite, but you’re close. Fiamma of the Right is the fourth member of the Right Seat of God, though he hasn’t made his move yet.”

Touma was really surprised, “Wait, where did you get Fuoco from, Mikoto? And is that really close to Fiamma?”

Mikoto answered, “The pattern isn’t that complicated. I noticed that all of their names are Italian, which makes sense if they’re a Catholic organization. Terra, Acqua, and Vento are the Italian words for Earth, Water, and Wind, which are three of the four classical elements. So I thought the last one left would be Fire, or Fuoco in Italian. But apparently it’s Fiamma, which means Flame instead.”

The boy was pretty impressed, “Wow, you know Italian? Man, Tokiwadai really teaches you a lot, huh?”

Mikoto blushed at his praise, “Well, I sometimes have to do demonstrations around the world, so I’ve picked up some foreign languages. My Italian isn’t that great though, I’m much better at English, French, Spanish, and Russian.”

Touma’s eyes widened, “Wow, that’s a lot of languages! And here I am, knowing only Japanese.”

Mikoto chuckled, “Well, a lot of people in the world are learning Japanese, thanks to Academy City, so you might not be as disadvantaged in other countries as you think.”

Touma then recalled, “Yeah, when I was in a cafe in France, I tried ordering English using a translation on my phone, but they actually had someone who understood Japanese. It was pretty embarrassing.”

Itsuwa forlornly watched the couple’s conversation. They seemed really close, and she could tell that Touma was happy to be with Mikoto.

Mikoto then returned to the original topic, “So, these Right Seat of God people have psychic powers, right?” That was what the news about the September 30 attacks said.

Itsuwa was a bit confused, replying, “No? They’re not like espers in Academy City. They’re magicians.”

Mikoto was now really confused. “Wait, what? Magicians don’t actually exist in real life. I mean, the news said that the Catholic physic powers program was codenamed Magic, but that’s just a codename to conceal its true nature, right?”

Touma wasn’t surprised that she didn’t believe magic was real. Though he didn’t remember it, he had reacted similarly when Index had first told him about magic. In any case, Touma knew that there was now no going back.

Itsuwa remained confused at Mikoto’s reaction. “Wait, has Kamijou not told you about magic?” She assumed that Touma would have told his girlfriend about magic, especially since he regularly got involved in the Magic Side. 

Mikoto was shocked at her response, since it not only implied that magic was in fact real, but also that her boyfriend already knew this. She turned to Touma with a piercing gaze and answered, “No, he hasn’t. Hey Touma, is this another thing you haven’t told me about yet?” 

Touma nervously gulps and answers, “Yeah, so it’s a pretty long story. The basic gist of it is that, just like Academy City has espers with supernatural powers based on science, there are also magicians with supernatural powers. I don’t actually know too much about magic, but their powers are usually based on religious mythology. And I’ve gotten dragged into a bunch of fights against magicians, since my Imagine Breaker works on magic as well. Actually, Itsuwa is also a magician, so she might have a better explanation.”

Itsuwa nodded, “Yes, I’m a magician from the Amakusa Church, which has Christian, Buddhist, and Shinto aspects, though we’re a part of the Church of England. And the Right Seat of God consists of four Catholic magicians.”

Mikoto groaned and rubbed her head with her free hand, “This is all really hard to believe. I had a hard enough time believing that the Catholic Church had developed their own psychic powers program, but to think there’s an entirely different power system.” She then asked, “Hey, Itsuwa-san, since you’re a magician, could you demonstrate some magic for me?”

Itsuwa was a bit startled being put on the spot, but she replied, “O-oh, sure!” She took out a sweater from her bag and put it on. She then stepped a bit further away and exclaimed, “Okay, Misaka-san, fire an attack at me!”

Mikoto was a bit confused, “Wait, what? Why?”

Itsuwa answered, “Don’t worry about me, I have a spell that will deflect the damage.”

Mikoto replied, “All right.” She still wasn’t sure about this, but she fired a lightning spear that wouldn’t be too damaging to the other girl. To her surprise, instead of shocking the other girl, the electricity seemed to be absorbed into the sweater, which suddenly became very torn.

Itsuwa explained, “This spell allows me to redirect the damage I take to my clothes! I always try to have some extra clothes because of this.”

Mikoto was puzzled by her explanation, “Wait, so how does that even work? That’s just a normal sweater, right? And you’re saying it works on all damage, not just from electricity?”

Itsuwa nodded, “That’s right. There’s not really a scientific explanation for it.” She then raised her spear and activated an illumination spell, creating a glowing light on the tip of her weapon. “This is another simple spell that we Amakusa members use.”

Mikoto was amazed, “So you can use multiple different kinds of spells, huh? That’s a lot different than for espers. I have a lot of different abilities, but they’re all based on controlling electromagnetism. Can magicians just use whatever spells they want?”

Itsuwa replied, “Kind of? Most magicians usually stick to a certain theme or tradition for their spells, since it makes it easier to prepare the requirements.”

Mikoto sighed and rubbed her head, “Man, this is all really confusing.” It would take some time for her to fully wrap her head around this. 

Touma nodded, “Yeah, when I first learned about magic, it took me a while to fully believe it too. Anyway, I think I should head back home now. Do you guys want to come over for dinner?”

Mikoto answered, “Okay, that sounds good.” Even if Itsuwa and probably Index would also be there, she wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to be with her boyfriend, and maybe she’d get to learn more about magic.

Itsuwa nodded, “Yeah, sure.” It was originally her plan to stay at his dorm anyway. She probably wouldn’t be able to live with him like she planned, but she would at least get to spend more time with him, even if his girlfriend was there too. 

The three of them began heading towards Touma’s dorm. Mikoto was still reeling from the information she’d just learned, but she hoped that Touma would continue helping her make sense of it.

* * *

The three of them were now in front of Touma’s door. Before he opened it, he turned to the two girls and said, “Can you guys not mention anything about Acqua to Index? I don’t want her to get involved in any dangerous situations, since he’s only after me anyway.”

Mikoto replied, “All right, but you better not just go rushing in to fight this guy by yourself!”

Itsuwa then awkwardly said, “W-well, the magicians of the Amakusa Church are here to protect you. But what if he attacks you here while you’re sleeping?”

Touma shrugged, “I don’t think that’s very likely.” He then unlocked his door, only to be greeted by a brooding Index.

Index was not happy to see Touma return home with two girls. “Touma, what is Itsuwa from the Amakusa Church doing here?” She understood that Mikoto, as Touma’s girlfriend, would be coming over regularly, even if she didn’t like it. But the presence of Itsuwa was very suspicious.

The boy nervously rubbed his head and replied, “Um, well you see, I ran into her in town and asked if she wanted to join us for dinner.”

Index suddenly lost all of her anger, and instead lay down forlornly on the floor. 

This made Touma even more fearful than if she had continued to remain angry. He asked, “Hey Index, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but could you maybe just bite me now to release some of your anger, so that you don’t explode completely?”

Mikoto turned to him and sharply exclaimed, “Hey, what are you saying, you idiot? Why are you asking her to bite you, are you some kind of masochist?”

Touma waved his hands, “No, no, I just figured it would be better to get it over with now instead of later.”

During this conversation, Sphynx, the calico cat, approached them. Itsuwa wanted to break up the awkward situation, so she took out some cat food from her bag and said, “I know, I have the perfect thing for your sweet little kitty! Premium grade bonito!”

Mikoto then saw the cat and cooed, “Aww, I didn’t know you had a cute cat, Touma!”

Touma sighed, “Yeah, Index found him abandoned in a box outside and basically forced me to take him in.” He then glanced into Itsuwa’s bag and said, “Hey Itsuwa, why do you have cat food, as well as meat and vegetables in your bag? Do you need them for some sort of spell?”

Itsuwa blushed, “Oh, I bought these at the supermarket earlier. I figured it would be rude of me to just mooch off your food. After all, I wouldn’t want to be a freeloader. Um, can I use your kitchen to cook?”

Touma was absolutely shocked by this. He looked at Mikoto, who was equally surprised. She realized that Itsuwa had planned all along to stay at Touma’s place and cook for him. Mikoto was annoyed, but she couldn’t get too mad at the other girl, since Itsuwa hadn’t known that Touma was now taken. In fact, Mikoto had to begrudgingly give Itsuwa credit for trying a move she would’ve never been able to make before she had confessed to him.

Index perked up and wondered, “Hey, wait! Why do I feel like I’ve just been subtly insulted?”

Touma sardonically replied, “If you think hard enough, you might figure out the answer. Who is it that leaves me to do all the housework and has never done a single chore?”

Index looked down and sighed, “I know, I’m sorry. I’ll try to do more from now on.” By the time she looked back up, Touma was in the kitchen with Itsuwa, showing her where the kitchenware and spices were. She then angrily exclaimed, “Hey, why are you ignoring me?”

Touma harshly replied, “I wasn’t. Since you said you’ll help out more, why don’t you go clean the bathroom?”

Index huffed, “Fine, I will!” She then headed into the bathroom and started trying to clean the bathtub.

Touma then returned to the living room and sat down next to Mikoto. He let out a contented sigh and said, “Man, it’s really nice not having to do the cooking for once.”

Mikoto felt a little depressed. She knew he didn’t really think about what he was saying, but it seemed like he liked having a girl cook for him. Itsuwa was also more physically developed than her, and Mikoto guessed that Itsuwa fit Touma’s type pretty well. 

Touma smiled at his girlfriend and gently stroked her hair, softly saying, “Hey Biri-Biri, are you feeling okay?” He noticed that she seemed a little down, but he wasn’t sure why.

Mikoto blushed, embarrassed that he had caught her feeling sad because of some silly insecurities. She smiled and him and replied, “Y-yeah, I’m fine. W-would you like it if I cooked for you sometime?”

The boy’s eyes widened as he realized what was bothering her. Of course, it must have been weird for her to see another girl cooking for him. He grasped both of her hands and gently caressed them, and told her with a grin, “Of course, any guy would love to have his girlfriend cook for him! I’d gladly eat anything you make.” He then kissed the top of her head.

Mikoto was happy that he figured out what was troubling her, and she felt cheered up by his response. She replied, “Th-thanks, Touma.” 

Itsuwa felt a little depressed too as she watched Touma and Mikoto converse with each other. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but seeing how fondly Touma treated Mikoto was enough to make her feel like a third wheel. 

Nevertheless, she soon finished cooking the miso soup she was making. However, before she could serve it, there was a loud noise and a scream from the bathroom. Touma, Mikoto, and Itsuwa rushed into the bathroom and saw that the bathtub was broken. 

Touma glared at Index and angrily asked, “All right, how did you manage to break the tub with just a sponge and cleanser?”

Index brattily answered, “Well, I scrubbed it really hard! Maybe I did too good a job!”

Touma scoffed, “That’s not it, you poured all of that cleanser into the hot water intake!”

Index tilted her head and asked, “But isn’t that what cleaner’s supposed to do, clean stuff?”

Mikoto was a bit stunned at Index’s reaction,  _ “Does this girl have any common sense?” _

Touma pinched the girl’s cheeks and retorted, “Not if you burn the inside of the hot water heater and nearly cause a fire!” 

Itsuwa, wanting to calm the situation down, suggested, “Well, how about we go to a bathhouse?”

Index said, “A bathhouse?” That sounded like a nice change of pace.

Touma replied, “Sure, there’s no other way for me to get a bath tonight.” He had been looking forward to taking a bad and then sleeping, but his night obviously wasn’t going to be that simple.

Mikoto then suggested, “How about the one in District 22, in the underground complex?” Not only was it a really nice bathhouse, but she had recently learned that she could get a unique Gekota strap if she acquired ten stamps there.

Itsuwa nodded, “Oh yeah, that’s one of the top-ranked bathhouses in Academy City!” 

As they were all in agreement, the four of them decided to head to the bathhouse after eating dinner. 

* * *

  
  


By the time they had finished dinner, the last bus had already left, so they were now at a nearby rental shop to rent a pair of motorcycles. Touma said, “So, do you guys know how to drive a motorcycle? I haven’t driven one before.”

Itsuwa answered, “Yeah, I haven’t driven a motorcycle in a while, but I should still be able to do it.”

Mikoto also replied, “Well, I haven’t driven one before, but it shouldn’t be too difficult. After all, I can use my magnetism to keep it balanced.”

Touma was a bit skeptical, “Are you sure about that? I mean, we don’t have any other choice, but still.”

Mikoto waved off his concerns with a grin, “Don’t worry, just recently I surfed through the air on a metal sheet during a fight, so steering a motorcycle on the road should be a piece of cake!”

Toum still wasn’t completely sold, but he decided to trust his girlfriend. They rented two motorcycles, one for Itsuwa and Index, and the other for Mikoto and Touma. Mikoto hopped onto one of the bikes and gripped onto the handlebars, and Touma climbed on behind her. She reminded him, “Remember not to put your right hand on me or the bike.”

Touma wrapped his left arm around her waist and replied, “Okay, but please don’t go too fast! You haven’t driven one of these before and I can only hold onto you with one arm.”

Mikoto grinned back at him, “Yeah, all right.” She was actually pretty excited to drive the motorcycle, though she blushed a little due to his half-embrace. The girl started the engine and took off. It was a little wobbly at first, but Mikoto used her magnetism to keep it upright, and they continued on a smooth ride.

Meanwhile, Itsuwa had also started her motorcycle. She was also impressed by how smooth the ride was, and decided to speed up to enjoy the ride even more, which Index was also in favor of.

Mikoto watched the other motorcycle speed past her, which sort of made her want to do the same. Even at their current speed, she still felt exhilarated with the wind rushing past her face. She teasingly said to Touma, “Hmm, maybe I should go faster after all! Then you’ll have to hold onto me tighter.”

Touma paled, knowing that she was likely to do just that if he didn’t persuade her otherwise. He replied, “I’m fine with holding you tight whenever you want, Biri-Biri, but please don’t speed up!” To underscore his point, he tightened his grip around her waist.

Mikoto blushed at his smooth reply, but she was happy with the result, so she maintained her current speed. Realizing that she finally had some alone time with him, she took the opportunity to ask, “Hey Touma, when did you start getting involved in this Magic Side you talked about?”

The boy answered, “Well, it was before I lost my memories, but I know it started when I met Index. She has a photographic memory, and has memorized 103,000 grimories, so she’s pretty important on the Magic Side”

Mikoto replied, “That nun has a photographic memory? And what are grimoires, some sort of spellbooks?”

Touma nodded, “Yeah, pretty much. Apparently reading them is dangerous for a normal person, but she’s able to read and memorize them, so her church used her to archive them.”

The girl was surprised to hear that the childish nun she knew was actually such a key player on the Magic Side. She said, “That’s pretty convenient, though it seems like a huge burden for her. But man, I still can’t believe that magic is a real thing!”

Touma nodded, “Yeah, you know, there were actually a few times you came into contact with magic without knowing it.”

The girl was pretty surprised to hear this, “Really? When?”

The boy replied, “Well, you remember that fake Unabara guy? He was actually an Aztec magician who could transform to look like someone after getting a piece of their skin.”

Mikoto grimaced, “That’s a bit gross, but wow! I thought he was just an esper who could change appearances, but that’s really freaky! And how does having a piece of skin let him change his entire appearance?”

Touma answered, “It was something related to Aztec mythology, some god of theirs apparently wears human skin. He also had an obsidian blade which he could use to reflect the light from Venus and destroy things.”

Mikoto was baffled, “What? How does that even work? There’s barely enough light from Venus to even see it at night, how can that little light have such destructive power?”

The boy shrugged, “I don’t know how it works, but you’re right, it definitely breaks scientific laws.” He then asked, “Do you remember that incident at the end of summer vacation where there was a terrorist in the underground mall?”

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah. Wait, I fought against some weird rock statue that day. It had grabbed onto Kuroko, so I had to railgun it to set her free. Was that related to magic?”

Touma answered, “Yeah, it was actually a golem created by a magician.”

The girl replied, “Wow, I thought it was just something created by an esper who could manipulate dirt. You know, I actually fought against something similar a few days ago.”

Touma said, “Oh, really?” He wondered if it was another golem.

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, there was this girl who volunteered for an experiment where she cut her body in half and combined each half with cybernetic parts to make two cyborgs. After a year, they recombined the halves to make a fully human and a fully mechanical body. The girl came up with the theory that her soul was split into two, and that if her mechanical doppelganger’s body was damaged, the soul would leak out and be able to possess other materials.”

Touma’s eyes widened, “Wow, that’s a pretty insane experiment! But at least she did it willingly, right?”

The girl answered, “Yeah, she did. Anyway, it seemed that the theory was true, since the Doppelganger was able to absorb a bunch of mass once her body was damaged. At one point, she had amassed a bunch of rubble and created a giant kaiju! It was actually a really exciting fight, I made my own kaiju from iron sand and was even able to have it fire railguns!”

Touma stared at her in awe, “Wow, I would have loved to see that. You really are strong, aren’t you?”

Mikoto’s cheeks reddened at his praise, but she continued, “Yeah, it was an awesome fight! But anyway, that theory about her soul taking control of stuff was wrong. Instead, she was using artificial muscles which could embed themselves into objects which allowed her to control all that mass. So it ended up having a perfectly reasonable scientific explanation, instead of a weird theory about a soul.”

The boy mused, “Wow, that’s actually pretty neat, I had no idea something like that was even possible.”

Mikoto said, “Me neither. But it’s interesting that you can do something similar with magic.”

Touma replied, “Yeah. Oh, do you remember the Ball Toss event during the Daihasei Festival?”

The girl recalled, “Yeah, that was when you were trying to warn me about something on the poles? I wasn’t sure what was going on, but then something from one of the poles shot out at your classmate. Was that magic too?”

The boy answered, “Yeah, it was. I was really worried about you touching the paper on that pole, and when you started getting red and acting weird, I thought you’d been affected by the spell.”

Mikoto sighed, “You idiot, I was just flustered because you were acting so concerned about me, and it didn’t help when you tackled me to the ground! Couldn’t you just have said to not touch the paper?” 

Touma chuckled, “Yeah, I guess you have a point there. Man, you really couldn’t help yourself around me, huh?”

The girl lightly elbowed him and said, “Oh, shut up!”

The boy smiled and softly said, “But you’re right, I was really worried about you, Biri-Biri. I’m really glad you weren’t hit too.”

Mikoto smiled too and replied, “I worry about you too, Touma. And now I know you’re involved in this whole other side, I’m worried even more.”

Touma replied, “Well, I guess we’ll just have to look out for each other, then.” 

The girl said, “Yeah, I guess so.” She knew that both of them would continue risking danger to help others, but Mikoto hoped that they could help each other out and stick by each other’s side. 

* * *

  
  


Once they reached the bathhouse, Touma had to split up from the girls. Mikoto duly got her Gekota stamp, and she, Itsuwa, and Index soon entered into the bath.

Mikoto glanced over at Itsuwa. Even though the water wasn’t clear, she could still tell that the other girl had a clear advantage in chest size, so Mikoto was forced to admit defeat with a sigh.

Itsuwa was a bit nervous being around Touma’s girlfriend without him around. She had accepted that she’d lost her chance with the boy, but she was a bit curious about his relationship with Mikoto. Therefore, asked the other girl, “Hey, Misaka-san, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you and Kamijou start dating?”

Index perked up at this question. She knew that Touma had saved Mikoto at one point, and that Mikoto had confessed to him recently, but she didn’t know the full details, so she was also curious to hear what Mikoto would say.

Mikoto smiled fondly as she began her answer. “Well, when I first met Touma, I found out that he could somehow block my electric shocks. I wasn’t sure how he did it, but I kept running into him and challenging him to fights. He kept negating my attacks and running away, but I was really intrigued by him. A while after I met him, there was this problem I was really struggling with, and nothing I tried was able to fix it. But then he showed up right when I needed a hero and saved me.”

Index said, “That’s right, you said Touma helped you even though you didn’t ask for it.”

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, that’s when I really started having feelings for him, but I didn’t admit it to myself until a bit later. Once I did, I realized that nothing would happen if I didn’t tell him how I felt. It was hard for me to work up the courage, because I always got flustered around him. But just recently, I confessed to him, and he agreed to go out with me.” 

Index sighed, “I still don’t understand why Touma even accepted your confession, Short-Hair.” He and Mikoto had previously never seemed particularly close whenever Index had seen them together, but something must have changed recently for him to fall for Mikoto.

Itsuwa had just met Mikoto, but she had seen enough to answer Index’s doubts. “I’m not surprised. Misaka-san is very protective of Kamijou, but she’s also really kind to him. It’s obvious that she cares a lot about him, and he seems really happy to be with her.”

Mikoto smiled at the other girl and said, “Thanks, Itsuwa-san.” She was pleasantly surprised that Itsuwa was defending her, and it made her feel a little less insecure. She then continued, “So, how did you meet Touma, Itsuwa-san?”

Itsuwa answered, “I first met him when we were involved in a magic-related incident in Tokyo, and I saw him again when we were in Chioggia, Italy, where we dealt with another incident. And most recently, I was with him in France. In all of those fights, he really helped out a lot, and we wouldn’t have been able to succeed without him.”

Mikoto mused, “So that’s what he was doing in Italy right after the Daihasei Festival.” She knew that he had been overseas right after the festival, but she hadn’t known why. It seemed like Touma had been heavily involved in magic-related incidents, enough to run into Itsuwa multiple times. It was obvious how fond of Touma Itsuwa was, and Mikoto honestly felt a little bad for her. If Mikoto hadn’t confessed to him when she did, perhaps Itsuwa would’ve gotten a chance, but it was too late for her now.

The three girls then continued relaxing in the bath, hoping that their night would remain free of any trouble.

  
  
  



	19. Underground Battle

After Touma finished his time in the bath, he stepped outside to get some fresh air. Unfortunately, since this part of the city was underground, there wasn’t any breeze. He thought about the current situation, with Acqua of the Back apparently coming after him. Touma didn’t know when Acqua would strike, which made him a little anxious.

Soon afterwards, both Mikoto and Itsuwa came outside as well and approached Touma. As his girlfriend approached him, Touma noticed that, due to the bath, she smelled really nice and her hair was still a little damp. He then greeted them, “Hey guys, how was the bath?”

Mikoto glanced at Itsuwa and answered, “It was nice, we got to know each other a little better. How was yours?”

Touma was glad that they were getting along, and replied, “It was fine, a little lonely though.” He briefly wondered what it would be like to share a bath with Mikoto, but shook off that thought before it got too inappropriate.

Itsuwa then suggested, “How about we all take a walk?” She figured it would be a nice way to relax after the bath. She wished she could’ve gone on a walk with just Touma, but she knew that it wasn’t possible. 

The boy nodded, “Sure, but where’s Index?” He wondered where the third girl was, especially since he knew how much trouble Index could get into if she were by herself.

Itsuwa answered, “Oh, she was running around the all-you-can-eat food stalls.” She and Mikoto had been amazed at how much food Index could eat at once.

Touma chuckled, “Sounds like her. Well, she won’t get lost, so let’s go.” He knew that Index would bite him if he tried separating her from unlimited food, and he figured it would be better to not get her involved in any potential fight against Acqua.

Mikoto grabbed onto her boyfriend’s left hand, and the three of them began walking around the underground streets. She found it pretty romantic to walk with him outside under the starlight, even if there was another girl present. She marvelled, “The sky is really beautiful here, isn’t it?”

Itsuwa nodded and excitedly answered, “Yeah, they put planetarium panels on the ceiling, so you can actually see way more stars than you’d be able to see from outside!”

Meanwhile, the other Amakusa members were following them from a distance, trying to watch over them. Tatemiya muttered, “We thought the soccer ball plan was a complete success, but it turns out he already has a girlfriend! And now Itsuwa is just third wheeling their romantic walk.”

The others also felt bad for Itsuwa, but there wasn’t much they could do about it, so they turned the conversation to Acqua of the Back and how to defend Touma from him. 

After a bit longer, Touma wondered, “Hey Itsuwa, where are the other Amakusa members? Aren’t they supposed to be with you?” 

Itsuwa answered, “Oh, they’re keeping an eye on us from a distance. We’ll be pretty well-protected against Acqua. Though it’s too bad the priestess isn’t here, she’d be equivalent to a hundred people.”

Touma replied, “You’re talking about Kanzaki, right? She’s very strong, isn’t she?”

Itsuwa then replied, “Of course, she’s one of less than twenty Saints in the entire world!”

Mikoto was unsure of what they were talking about, so she asked, “Hold on, what’s a Saint?”

Itsuwa answered, “Saints are powerful magicians, who possess characteristics of the Son of God, allowing them to draw upon his powers. They have superhuman strength and senses, can move as supersonic speeds, and can use much more powerful spells. They’re on the same order of magnitude as Level 5 Espers.”

Mikoto’s eyes widened, “Wait, there are magicians as strong as Level 5’s?”

Itsuwa nodded, “Yes, and there are some non-Saints who are also about as strong, though in different ways. Magicians come from all over the world, not just one city, so it’s not surprising that there are quite a few that are that strong.”

Mikoto suddenly felt a lot smaller. It seemed she was just a big fish in a small pond, with a whole world outside Academy City that she hadn’t been aware of before today.

Itsuwa then continued with a frown, “Unfortunately, Acqua of the Back is also a Saint, so it’ll be tough to take him down, even with the entire Amakusa force and Misaka-san on our side.”

At that moment, a spark suddenly emerged from Mikoto’s forehead, and she flinched, “Ow!”

Touma saw this happen and asked, “Biri-Biri? What’s wrong?”

Mikoto held her hand to her forehead and confusedly answered, “That’s weird, this sort of thing happens when that annoying Mental Out girl tries to control my mind. I have an electromagnetic barrier that stops me from being brainwashed, but she’s not here right now.”

Touma replied, “Oh wow, you’re immune to mental control, too? You have so many useful abilities!”

Mikoto blushed a little at his praise, but retorted, “Yeah, but who’s trying to control my mind? I don’t even see anyone else in the streets.”

Touma’s eyes widened, “That’s right, I haven’t seen any people or cars around us for the past few minutes!”

Itsuwa realized, “It’s a People-Clearing Field!” She turned to Mikoto and said, “That’s a spell that makes people leave a certain area, but it doesn’t work on other magicians.”

Mikoto was amazed, “Hold on, there’s actually a spell that can do that?” If so, she figured it must work similarly to Mental Out, since her barrier was still effective against it. Of course, Itsuwa was immune because she was a magician, and Touma was immune because of Imagine Breaker.

Itsuwa nodded, “Yes, and that can only mean one thing!”

The bridge they were on suddenly shook, and they all heard a voice say, “I gave you a warning. You had plenty of time and a number of options before you, but this is the path you chose?” 

All three of them got into a defensive stance, and Itsuwa prepared her spear. The voice continued, “Honestly, did you really not have any better alternatives?” They looked up and saw a huge, well-built man, and Touma identified him, “Acqua!”

Acqua then suddenly disappeared from his previous perch. Itsuwa looked around frantically for him, but he suddenly appeared behind her and elbowed her in the back, causing her to fall to the ground.

Touma shouted, “Itsuwa!” He started to approach her, but he was soon interrupted.

Acqua stepped up and announced, “I’ve come to eliminate the source of all the current unrest around the world.” 

To Mikoto’s disbelief, a giant mace then started to appear out of the ground behind Acqua. He picked it up and was about to swing it against Touma, saying, “Is now the best time for you to be concerned about others?”

Not wanting her boyfriend to be hit by that mace, Mikoto charged up and sent a powerful lightning spear towards Acqua. To her surprise, the man took the attack head-on, and he didn’t suffer any major damage. She thought to herself, “ _ He didn’t negate it like Touma, or reflect it like Accelerator. He just absorbed it into his body! Itsuwa-san wasn’t kidding about Saints.”  _

Mikoto’s attack did succeed in turning Acqua’s attention away from Touma, but now he swung his mace towards her instead. Since it was made of metal, the girl held out her hands and tried using her magnetism to hold it back. Mikoto succeeded in slowing it down somewhat, but Acqua had enough strength to overcome her magnetic force, and she was painfully knocked to the ground. 

Touma rushed towards the girl and exclaimed, “Mikoto, are you okay?”

Mikoto sat up and winced, “I’m fine. Man, he really is strong!” Her eyes widened and she suddenly shouted, “Watch out, Touma!”

Acqua finally swung his mace at the boy, “Like I said, you’re not in a position to worry about others!” Mikoto was again able to partially inhibit the mace’s momentum with her magnetism, but it still made a hard impact on Touma, who was sent flying up and then knocked head-first into the ground.

Acqua then asked, “Did you think you could challenge me and win, when your entire group combined could not?”

Itsuwa’s eyes widened, “What did you do to the rest of the Amakusa forces?” 

Acqua replied, “I didn’t kill them, they’re not the ones I’m after.” 

It seemed Acqua had already taken out the other Amakusa members, which explained how he’d been able to approach the three of them without being detected. Nevertheless, Itsuwa raised her spear and said in a determined tone, “Even so, I still have my pride.” She lunged for Acqua, but he disappeared and reappeared to her side. Mikoto tried impeding his mace again, but due to his sudden movements, there was not enough time for it to have a significant impact, and Itsuwa was knocked back against a pillar.

The man decided that Mikoto’s interference had gotten annoying enough, and made a final attack on her. Once again, Acqua was able to overpower her magnetic force and knocked her down to the ground. 

With both Mikoto and Itsuwa temporarily unconscious, Acqua then approached Touma, who was struggling to get off the ground and had blood dripping from his lips. He harshly demanded, “Your right arm. If you offer it to me, I’ll let you leave this place with your life.”

Touma protectively held onto his right wrist with his left hand and defiantly exclaimed, “No, screw that!” 

Acqua raised the mace above his head, “In that case, I’ll have to give you a little more insight into the reality of your situation!” With no interference, Touma was struck at full force, and he fell back to the ground, bleeding heavily.

Soon afterwards, both Mikoto and Itsuwa opened their eyes. Itsuwa’s hand was covered in blood, and she knew that it wasn’t hers. She quickly realized that it was Touma’s blood. Looking up, she saw a bleeding Touma lying on the ground, shouting, “Kamijou!” She rushed forward and kneeled in front of him, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Mikoto was altered by the other girl’s shout, and soon saw her boyfriend’s bloody body. She raised her hand to her mouth in shock, “T-Touma?” She began to tear up as well, but she also rushed to the boy’s side.

Itsuwa began gathering some ordinary items, including a hot towel, and carefully arranged them around Touma. She then announced, “I’ll heal you with my restoration spell!”

Mikoto watched in amazement as glowing balls appeared and danced around the boy’s body, seeming as if they would enter his wounds to patch them up. She couldn’t believe that such a thing was even possible, but she couldn’t argue against her own eyes.

Unfortunately, the entire spell was negated by his right hand. Itsuwa frantically tried again, but the result was the same. Acqua then asked from behind them, “Are you finished yet?”

Itsuwa quickly moved to stand between Acqua and Touma, her spear ready. Mikoto also moved to protect the boy, her body emitting sparks due to her anger and sorrow at what Acqua had done to her boyfriend.

Acqua was a bit exasperated at their continued resistance, so he stated, “All right, I guess I’ll have to crush all three of you together.” 

Mikoto was frustrated that she wasn’t strong enough to do anything meaningful against Acqua. Her shocks were not strong enough to damage him and he could overpower her magnetism with his raw physical strength as a Saint. She couldn’t even use her iron sand, since they were surrounded by concrete. It was just like when she’d fought against Accelerator. 

An idea then came to her,  _ “If my magnetism doesn’t work on his mace, maybe I can use it on something else!”  _ She magnetized some of the railings from the bridge and flung them at Acqua. However, he was easily able to swat them away using his mace. Mikoto considered making those large hunks of metal stick to that mace, but she decided that Acqua would still be strong enough to swing it, and the extra mass would make any further hits even more deadly.

As one last try, Mikoto quickly pulled out a coin from her skirt pocket and fired a railgun at Acqua. However, the man was able to simply sidestep the projectile. She winced,  _ “Of course, I can fire my coin at three times the speed of sound, but he can move at supersonic speeds, so it’s easy for him to dodge my railgun.” _

Despite the hopeless situation, both Mikoto and Itsuwa grimly prepared to make a final stand. However, they both then felt a hand on their shoulder. Touma had somehow managed to get up and now stood between them. 

Touma first said, “Thank you, Itsuwa. Because of your healing magic, I’m feeling a little bit better now.” Itsuwa knew that was a lie. Because of his right hand, her spell could not have had any effect whatsoever. 

He then smiled at Mikoto and said, “Thank you, Biri-Biri. If it wasn’t for your magnetism, I probably would be dead right now.” While this was perhaps true, he had still taken a critical amount of damage, and Mikoto knew that Acqua probably could’ve hit him much harder if he’d wanted to. And yet, despite all his injuries, her boyfriend was still forcing himself to stand up. 

Touma then lunged towards Acqua, his right hand clenched into a fist, ready to strike. Of course, he had no illusions about being able to defeat Acqua. Instead, his aim was to protect Mikoto and Itsuwa from getting hurt any more. Since Acqua was only after him, Touma figured the man would leave the girls alone if the battle ended without further involving them.

Acqua calmly reacted, “I admire your courage.” He then quickly struck the boy with the sharp end of his mace, ramming him against a pillar. Acqua then said, “I’ll give you one day. If you cut off your own right arm and deliver it to us by then, I will let you live.” By this point, Touma was completely unconscious and couldn’t hear him, but Acqua knew that the two girls could hear him loud and clear. He then gave his mace a final swing, flinging the unconscious boy into the water, hundreds of meters away. Touma’s body skipped along the surface a couple of times before finally sinking. 

Acqua once again said, “I’ll wait for one day.” He then walked away from the scene, leaving a shocked Mikoto and Itsuwa behind.

* * *

A bit later, Mikoto and Index were in a hospital room, looking at an unconscious Touma. The other Amakusa members had managed to retrieve him out of the water and bring him to this nearby hospital. According to the doctor, Touma was in a very bad condition, though fortunately he was rescued early enough that his life wasn’t in danger.

Mikoto thought back to her encounter with Acqua, and how absolutely nothing she did could stop him in any way. She felt completely impotent, similar to how she’d felt against Accelerator. She had wanted to help protect her boyfriend, but once again, it had been him who had protected her instead. Sure, Acqua was from the Magic Side, which Mikoto had only just learned about, but she was supposed to be one of the strongest people in Academy City. And yet she could only watch as Acqua beat up Touma close to death.

Meanwhile, just outside the hospital room, Itsuwa was slumped down on the floor, leaning against the wall. Tatemiya asked her, in a frustrated tone, “So, how long are you going to stay huddled down there on the floor?”

Itsuwa looked down and quietly replied, “He said...he said thank you to me, even though I did nothing to help him. I couldn’t protect him at all with my magic, and he thanked me. I was thinking about his power, and how I always thought it was so amazing even before I met him. But I was so wrong. He can’t rely on any defensive spells, and my restoration spell couldn’t heal a single scratch. He could only fight with just his physical body, and I just watched him get beaten. How can someone like me go on living? Divine punishment should be raining down on me? It isn’t right, I should be the one in that hospital bed instead!” 

Tatemiya roughly grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up, and angrily said, “You gotta be kidding me, this is the kind of girl he stuck his neck out to protect? The man you owe your life to is lying there black and blue, and you’re saying all you can do is sit here and cry about it? He nearly threw his life away for a girl like you, and you don’t lift a finger? If so, he risked his life for nothing, absolutely nothing!” As he finished, he threw Itsuwa onto the ground.

He then continued, “Acqua of the Back will definitely return. While you’re sitting around and doing nothing, our time is running out. Are you going to waste this time over pointless regret and guilt, even while it’s still possible to act? Don’t throw other people’s lives away just because of your own troubles!”

Itsuwa slowly got up and tried to reply, “I want-”

Tatemiya interrupted her, “You want to apologize to him? After what happened to the one you wanted to protect, do you want him to see the light of day again? If so, then fight! Prove to him that you’re a great girl, and that he was right to risk his life for you. Unless you want to apologize in front of his grave, we have to fight!” He then turned and walked away, along with the rest of the Amakusa members, saying, “Damn it, the guy we wanted to protect was right in front of us, but none of us managed to save him. How could we have let this happen?”

Itsuwa was left by herself on the floor, and she soon returned to leaning against the wall, trying to recover from Tatemiya’s verbal attack.

Mikoto had, from inside the hospital room, been able to hear what Itsuwa and Tatemiya had said. She found the man’s words really harsh, but when she applied them to herself, she couldn’t really refute them. Mikoto felt really bad for Itsuwa, having to endure her failure being rubbed in her face like that. Mikoto then left the room and saw Itsuwa huddled down on the floor. She sat herself down next to the other girl, resting her arms on her bent knees.

Itsuwa briefly looked up and turned to the other girl, “Misaka-san?” She was a bit surprised to see Mikoto join her.

Mikoto replied, “I heard everything both of you said. That sounded pretty harsh.”

Itsuwa looked down with a frown, “Maybe, but everything he said was true. I came to Academy City with the other Amakusa members to protect Kamijou against Acqua of the Back. But when the time came to fight, I couldn’t do anything!”

Mikoto sighed and then showed a sad smile, “Well, if that’s true, then everything he said applies to me as well. I’m the 3rd Ranked Level 5, but I couldn’t do anything to save Touma either. Perhaps I’m not a girl worth saving either.”

Itsuwa looked over at Mikoto and retorted, “Don’t say that! You were at least able to soften the blows he took! Meanwhile, I couldn’t even touch Acqua, and my healing magic had no effect.”

Mikoto shook her head, “No, Acqua was easily able to overcome my magnetism without much effort, and he probably could’ve hit harder if he’d wanted to. But I guess it doesn’t matter that much. What matters is what we do from here.”

Itsuwa sighed, “Yes, but what can we do? Acqua defeated all of us so easily. How can you be so sure that we can beat him if we try again?”

Mikoto frowned, “Honestly, I’m not sure at all. But something like this has happened to me before. In order to save some people who are important to me, I once tried to take on someone who was completely invincible. No matter what kind of attack you threw at him, it would be reflected away. Battling him was only a question of how much he decided to punish you.”

Itsuwa widened her eyes, afraid of this person who seemed to perhaps be even stronger than Acqua. She then asked, “So what happened? Were you eventually able to beat him?”

Mikoto chuckled, “No, Touma was the one who beat him for me. I helped a tiny amount during that fight, but it was mostly him. But I did learn that even if something seems completely hopeless, there might just be a way to overcome it, especially if you can get help from others.”

Itsuwa sighed, “Kamijou really is strong, isn’t he? But we can’t really rely on him in his current condition.”

Mikoto replied, “Yeah, he’s not really in any condition to fight. But it seems like your friends are trying to come up with a plan. You guys are the experts in magic, so I bet you’ll come up with something. And didn’t you say you also had a Saint on your side?”

Itsuwa nodded, “Yes, we do have the priestess on our side, and we might be able to get her support. But it might take some time.” She was feeling a little better, so she stood up off the ground, “I should go join the others and help prepare a plan. Thank you, Misaka-san.”

Mikoto then got up as well, “No problem, Itsuwa-san. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on Touma. I probably won’t be of much use fighting Acqua again anyway.” She really hated admitting this, but she knew if she tried facing off against Acqua again, she would only get crushed in vain.

Itsuwa replied, “All right. Take care of him, okay?” Mikoto gave her a quick nod, so Itsuwa left to go join the rest of the Amakusa members.

  
  


A while later, Touma woke up and looked around the unfamiliar hospital room. The only other occupant was Index, who was sprawled onto the bed and sleeping. Mikoto had just temporarily left the room, so he was alone with his thoughts. 

It took him a bit of time in his damaged condition, but he slowly remembered the fight against Acqua. He wondered if Mikoto, Itsuwa, and the other Amakusas continued to fight after he was knocked unconscious. If so, given how much of a monster Acqua had been, he doubted that they could have won immediately. The boy thus figured that it would be best for him to rejoin the fight. After all, Acqua was so concerned about high right hand, so perhaps Touma still had a chance to use it to help defeat him.

He turned to the sleeping girl and thought,  _ “I’ll apologize profusely to you later, Index.” _ He struggled to get off of the bed, but after some time, he managed to stand up, and he began slowly walking, first out of the hospital room, and then out of the hospital and into the cool night. Though his entire body ached with every step, he continued walking, determined to rejoin the battle.

Meanwhile, Mikoto finally returned to the room, quickly seeing that her boyfriend was no longer there, the sleeping Index being the only remaining occupant. It did not take her long to reach the obvious conclusion,  _ “That idiot must be trying to confront Acqua again!”  _ She quickly ran out of the hospital and tried looking for Touma.

The girl soon noticed him walking along the street, just a small distance from the hospital entrance. She caught up to him and angrily questioned, “You idiot! What are you doing outside the hospital?”

Touma slowly turned towards her and said, “Mikoto? Is that you?” He could barely make out her appearance, but he recognized her voice.

Mikoto saw that he was swaying on his feet, and when he took a step, he was about to collapse. She quickly hugged his left arm to support him. Looking at his eyes, she could tell that they were unfocused. She continued, “Where are you going?”

Touma replied, “They’re probably...still fighting. I have to go.”

Mikoto then replied, “But you’re really hurt! Can’t you let Itsuwa-san and the others fight instead? Why does it always have to be you who ends up in a hospital bed?”

Though he couldn’t see her face that well, Touma could tell how distraught she was. He knew just how worried she was for him. Nevertheless, he replied, “Sorry, Biri-Biri, but I can’t back away from a fight because of reasons like that.”

The girl sighed in exasperation. Honestly, she had not expected anything different. She then softly requested, “If you’re going to fight, will you at least let me help you get there? It’s going to be hard to walk there by yourself. You can barely stand up right now.”

Touma at first wanted to continue on his own. He didn’t want Mikoto to get involved in the fight, especially since she’d probably get hurt even more. But he knew that this was something she felt strongly about, and anyway, he figured it would be nice to have some support. So he replied, “All right, I’ll be counting on you, Mikoto!”

He expected her to just continue walking with him while supporting his body. However, she smirked and said, “Great! I’ll carry you there!”

Touma was surprised by her suggestion, replying, “Carry me? No, you don’t need to do that.”

Mikoto rolled her eyes, “Look, I know it’s a little embarrassing to be carried by a girl, but this way, you’ll get to rest a bit and won’t spend your energy walking. Plus, we’ll get there faster.” She had previously tried to fight while she was hungry, exhausted, and beat up, so she wanted to lessen his burden as much as possible.

The boy finally relented, “Okay, you win.” Mikoto put one arm on his back and the other behind his knees and lifted him into a princess carry. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her neck, asking, “Wait, do you need your ability?”

The girl shook her head, “No, I can carry you without boosting my strength with my ability. Just make sure to hold on tight!” She then began walking along the street. They didn’t know where the fight was, but she figured they’d be able to find the signs of it soon enough.

Touma leaned his head against her shoulder and closed his eyes, glad to be able to rest a little. He quietly said, “Thank you, Mikoto.”

Mikoto smiled down at him, “You’re welcome, Touma.” She was silent for a bit before saying in a sad tone, “I’m sorry I was too weak to protect you from Acqua. Itsuwa-san said that Saints were on the same order of magnitude as Level 5’s, but I couldn’t do anything against him, just like with Accelerator.”

The boy opened his eyes again, wanting to reassure his girlfriend, “You’re not weak! I think you did pretty well against him, it’s just that he has a monstrous amount of strength and speed. There’s no shame in losing to him.”

The girl sighed, “That’s not really the point. I mean, yes, my pride as a Level 5 was hurt, but more importantly, I wasn’t able to protect you from getting so hurt. What kind of girlfriend am I if I can’t even help keep my partner safe? I know I’m not as strong as you, but I still want to stand by your side.”

Touma was moved by her determination. He smiled up at her and replied, “Well, if you’re talking about Acqua, you did much better against him than I did. I’m really glad you were by my side then. But...I don’t like the idea of you getting hurt in fights that should only involve me.”

Mikoto was a little annoyed at his stubbornness, retorting, “Well, now that we’re partners, any fight that involves you also concerns me. I don’t want you getting hurt either, but I know you won’t stop fighting to help people, so I at least want to help you where I can. Maybe I can’t help you much more in this fight, but I want to do so in the future.”

Touma chuckled, “Wow, you’re pretty stubborn about this, aren’t you, Biri-Biri? But I guess I can’t really say no to that, huh?”

Mikoto smirked, “Good, I’m glad we’re on the same page!” However, she was still worried, not just about the rematch against Acqua, but about whatever magicians he’d have to face in the future. So, she asked him, “Have you fought against a lot of really strong magicians like Acqua? I used to think that you beating Accelerator was a once-in-a-lifetime achievement for you, but that’s not true, is it?”

The boy answered, “Yeah, I guess not. I’d say the strongest magician I’ve faced so far was an alchemist.”

Mikoto raised an eyebrow, “An alchemist? Were they actually able to turn lead into gold?”

Touma replied, “Probably. He apparently had the ability to make whatever he said into reality. So he could make a car appear above me, or create guns to shoot at me. My Imagine Breaker did work, but it was still pretty tough.”

Mikoto’s jaw dropped, “Wait, he could make anything he said come true? That’s a really overpowered ability! And how does that even work? It violates so many laws of physics! I mean, I know esper powers sort of do that too, especially Accelerator’s, but still!”

The boy then said, “Yeah, that’s just how magic is. Anyway, I wasn’t able to do much against him, and he eventually managed to cut my right arm off.”

Mikoto replied with some shock, “H-he cut your arm off? Wait, doesn’t that mean you were able to use your dragons?”

Touma replied, “Yeah, though that time I only used one dragon. It turned out that his ability was actually to turn his thoughts into reality, rather than his words. So I just had to pretend to be a psychopath when I got my arm cut off, and he was too scared for anything he tried to work against me.”

Mikoto was both shocked and impressed. “Wow, that’s completely insane! Have you used your dragons any other times?”

The boy answered, “No, just the two times. I don’t really like using them, since I have to get my arm cut off, and I’m not sure I can completely control how much they destroy.”

Mikoto chuckled, “That makes sense. It would be pretty funny if you just cut your arm in every fight to just end it instantly, but I get why you wouldn’t want to do that. It’s sort of ironic that Acqua wants to cut your arm off, since I bet he wouldn’t expect the dragons.”

Touma showed a wry smile, “Yeah, I bet. Anyway, I’ve fought against a bunch of other magicians, but I’d say he was the strongest besides Acqua.” 

At this point, they started hearing the sounds of an ongoing fight. Mikoto announced, “Looks like we’re almost there. You ready?”

The boy steeled himself in preparation, “Yeah, let’s go.” Mikoto started running towards the fight, hoping to get there before it was too late. 

It didn’t take them too long to arrive. Mikoto saw that Acqua was facing the Amukusa group as well as another girl who she hadn’t seen before, who she figured was Kanzaki. She also noticed that Acqua was in front of a giant cross, and that there was a crown made of metal wires and a giant metal nail near him. 

Acqua realized what they were, “Symbols of the Son of God’s crucifiction?” 

Kanzaki then exclaimed, “Longinus, now’s the time for the execution!” Itsuwa then readied her spear and prepared to strike.

Before she could do so, Acqua said, “The Amakusa Church, that is a name worthy of being engraved on my heart.” He then jumped very high into the air. Mikoto noticed that Kanzaki tried to restrain him with very thin metal wires, but he was able to avoid them. He then chanted a bunch of English letters and quickly plunged downwards.

This is when Touma knew he had to intervene. He said, “Mikoto, let me down here!” She nodded and carefully lowered him until he was standing on his own two feet. The boy then ran towards the point directly below Acqua’s descent path.

Kanzaki tried to stop his descent with her metal wires, but Acqua again brushed past them. However, just before he hit the ground, Touma was able to raise his right hand and block the tip of his mace, completely negating its magic.

Acqua, Kanzaki, and the Amakusa members were all shocked to see Touma suddenly appear like that. Touma shouted, “Now!” Kanzaki then sprung into action, restraining Acqua with the wires, which was now possible because of Touma. The Amakusa group then prepared their final strike, their Saint Destroyer spell. To Mikoto’s surprise, Itsuwa’s spear suddenly became covered by electricity, and then the spear itself was transformed into a glowing yellow pillar, which Itsuwa struck Acqua with, directly in the chest. 

Mikoto watched in amazement as a cross of electricity formed behind Acqua. She could sense that it was neither natural lightning nor like her own esper-created lightning. After a few seconds, Acqua was forcefully flung back into a nearby artificial lake, which instantly boiled off all the water, creating pillars of steam.

Acqua had finally been defeated. However, Touma had taken a lot of strain by stopping Acqua’s attack, and he was unable to remain conscious in his injured condition. Just before he collapsed to the ground, Mikoto rushed over and caught him. She then sighed in relief, glad that the battle was over, though still worried about the condition of her boyfriend, who needed to be quickly returned to the hospital.

* * *

  
  


By the morning, Touma had been moved to his usual hospital in District 7. He woke up in his usual hospital bed, and he saw Mikoto and Itsuwa sitting next to the bed. Itsuwa gave him a bright smile, “Oh, you’re awake!”

The boy tried getting up but found it a bit difficult. Mikoto told him, “Hey, don’t strain yourself, Touma! You just got back from a huge fight!

Touma replied, “Huh, I don’t remember much of whatever happened after I left the hospital. I remember Biri-Biri being with me, but not much else.”

Mikoto was glad that he remembered their walk to the fight, even if it wasn’t the most important part. 

Itsuwa excitedly replied, “You don’t? We defeated a Saint, one of less than twenty in the world! It was a huge miracle, like Santa tripping up and dropping presents everywhere!” She still couldn’t believe it had actually happened.

Touma smiled up at her and praised, “So, it’s safe to say that we beat Acqua? Man, you and the Amakusa are really awesome!”

Mikoto felt a little jealous at how he was praising Itsuwa, but she knew it was well justified. She said, “Yeah, that final attack was amazing! But I’m wondering, what was that cross made of lightning?”

Itsuwa answered, “Oh, that was our Saint Destroyer spell. Since Saints have the power of the Son of God, they’re weak to spells that symbolize his crucifixion. That’s why that cross of lightning appeared.”

Touma watched the two girls with a smile. His eyes then widened, and he panicked, “Wait, what day is it? Is my attendance record okay? There have been so many incidents lately.” 

He struggled to sit up, but Mikoto held onto him, warning, “Hey, you shouldn’t be getting up, you idiot! You’re still very injured!”

At this point, Index entered the room and glared at the boy, angrily exclaiming, “Touma! I haven’t heard an apology for sneaking out of the hospital yet!”

Itsuwa added, “That’s right! How could you think of fighting Acqua in your condition?”

Index jumped towards him and reacted, “Acqua? As in the Right Seat of God? Why wouldn’t you ask me for help against such a strong foe, Touma?”

Mikoto saw that her boyfriend was distressed by their badgering. She sighed and replied, “Look, it was stupid of him to leave the hospital in that condition, but I was the one that helped him get to the fight, so I’m at fault too. But it all turned out well in the end, right?”

Touma beamed at his girlfriend, glad that she was on his side. It was hard given his injuries, but he slowly raised his hand and started rubbing her head, saying, “Thanks for helping me out, Mikoto! I couldn’t have done it without you!”

Mikoto blushed and retorted, “D-don’t be silly, I didn’t really do that much. With how stubborn you were, I bet you would’ve walked all the way there by yourself if I wasn’t there!” She really wished she could have been more useful to him but there wasn’t much she could do about it now.

The boy chuckled, “Maybe, but it was because of you that I didn’t have to strain myself too much.” Though Mikoto thought her contribution was minimal, Touma was glad that she’d eased his burden and kept him company during the trip.

Meanwhile, just outside the room, Kanzaki approached the door, wanting to enter as well, but was flustered about doing so when Itsuwa, Index, and that other girl were already inside.

Suddenly, Tsuchimikado appeared behind her and said, “Hey, nee-chin. You came to thank Kami-yan for helping the Amakusa, right? But it seems you’re too late! Kami-yan already has a girlfriend!”

Kanzaki’s eyes widened, “Wh-what? He does? Has Itsuwa already made her move?” She knew that Itsuwa had been eager to see Touma again and act as his bodyguard, so she wondered if Itsuwa had actually managed to confess.

Tsuchimikado laughed, “No, his girlfriend is Misaka Mikoto, the other girl in that room right now.”

Kanzaki was a bit surprised by this, but she recalled how that girl had caught Touma when he was about to collapse to the ground after Acqua was defeated. She was disappointed, but knowing this fact actually eased her nervousness a bit, since at least she wouldn’t have to try to make a move.

She entered the hospital room, where she saw Mikoto holding onto Touma and him rubbing her head. They looked up, and the boy said, “Oh, hey Kanzaki!” Mikoto finally let go of him, not wanting to linger in that pose in front of so many other people.

Mikoto recognized that name, realizing that the girl in front of her was indeed the Saint that Itsuwa and Touma were talking about last night. Mikoto also recalled how she controlled those metal wires during the fight. 

Kanzaki bowed towards the boy, “Th-thank you for all your help, Kamijou-san. We wouldn’t have been able to defeat Acqua without you.”

Touma smiled, “Come on, you and the rest of the Amakusa did most of the work. I just helped a bit at the end.”

Mikoto rolled her eyes, remembering him saying something similar during their dance. She then sized up Kanzaki, thinking, “ _ Geez, why does this idiot know so many girls with huge boobs? And why are her jeans just missing an entire leg?”  _ But she then berated herself, knowing that there was no real reason to be jealous.

Soon afterwards, Kanzaki and Itsuwa said goodbye and left. Touma had to remain in the hospital for a bit longer, and Index planned to stay with him. However, Mikoto had to head back home, so she gave her boyfriend a quick goodbye kiss and then left.

Once she walked outside, she ran into Tsuchimikado, who she’d briefly met back at Touma’s school. He greeted her, “Well well, if it isn’t Kami-yan’s new girlfriend! Congratulations on snagging him, I was wondering how long it would take for him to finally choose a girl!”

Mikoto narrowed her eyes, suspicious about his intentions, “Thanks?”

Tsuchimikado then held out a package with some kind of pink and white clothing in it, saying, “Here, this is something I think your boyfriend will enjoy.”

The girl reluctantly took the package and examined it, trying to figure out what it was. She asked him, “What is this?”

The boy smirked at her and he answered, “It’s a Neko Maid costume! You can wear it for him on a special occasion!”

Mikoto blushed profusely, “Wh-what, why are you giving me such a p-perverted thing? There’s n-no way I could wear that!” However, she remembered Touma telling her that she’d make a cute catgirl and wondered if he would actually like seeing her wearing this outfit.

Tsuchimikado replied, “Come on, I bet he’s only seen you wear your uniform! Think how much of an effect you’d have on him if he saw you in something different!”

Mikoto had to admit that he had a point.  _ “I guess if it’s for Touma, I don’t really mind.”  _ She replied, “F-fine, I’ll take it!” She then quickly turned around and left the hospital, noting to herself,  _ “I absolutely need to hide this from Kuroko.” _

As she began to head home, Mikoto reflected on the major revelations that she had learned over the past day about the Magic Side. Touma was apparently heavily involved in it, so she knew she would also have to get involved. She resolved to learn more about magic, so that she could fight more effectively against magicians in the future.


	20. Learning about Magic

That evening, Mikoto and Touma decided to have dinner at Joseph’s, since the boy had already recovered quite a bit. Mikoto got there a bit earlier, looking forward to seeing her boyfriend again and eager to talk to him about magic. When the boy arrived, she greeted him, “Hey, Touma!” She grabbed onto his shoulders, while he grabbed onto her waist, and they went in for a quick kiss. After separating, they proceeded to enter the restaurant.

They sat next to each other at a table and ordered their food. Mikoto began by asking him, “So, how are your injuries? Do they still hurt?” Although she knew that he somehow always recovered quickly, he had taken a major amount of damage in the first fight against Aqua, and he hadn’t had much time to recover before he went back to fight Acqua a second time.

Touma smiled at her, “They’re a lot better now, thanks!” Although he regularly got hospitalized because of the fights he got into, he usually didn’t take too long to heal.

Mikoto was glad to hear that, and she was once again amazed at his ability to recover so quickly. She was eager to ask him a bunch of questions about magic. However, they had already decided to wait until later to involve Index in the discussion, since the nun knew much more about magic than Touma did. Instead, Mikoto decided to ask him, “So, what other kinds of magic-related encounters have you had?” Touma had already told her about multiple Magic Side incidents he’d been involved in, but she was eager to find out even more about his past battles. 

Thinking back to all his Magic Side encounters, Touma wondered which one to tell her about. He decided to tell her about one that sort of indirectly involved her. He recalled, “There was one very weird incident. At the end of August, after we beat Accelerator, rumors started spreading about it, so the higher-ups apparently wanted me to leave the city for a while. I went on a beach trip with Index and met up with my family.” 

Mikoto replied, “Oh, that’s when you spent the night at the beach.” She recalled with embarrassment how much she had freaked out when she’d learned about that during the Daihasei Festival. The girl then realized something, “Wait, you didn’t remember anything about your family, right? So to you, they were like complete strangers.”

Touma nodded, “Yeah, I was really worried about them finding out about my memory loss, and I didn’t want to make them worry by telling them.”

The girl wasn’t sure if it was right for him to keep his memory loss a secret from his parents, “You haven’t told your parents? I know you don’t want to hurt them, but don’t they deserve to know the truth?” Mikoto knew that she’d probably want to tell her parents if something this big had happened to her. But then again, she hadn’t told them about the over ten thousand sisters she now had, so maybe she didn’t have any room to talk.

Touma frowned and looked down, “Well, I just don’t think it would change much. They’d just be sad that I can’t remember my childhood. And I can still interact with them pretty well. After all, I somehow managed to get through the entire trip without them figuring it out.”

Mikoto sighed, “All right, I guess that’s your decision to make. So what kind of weird things happened during that trip?”

The boy replied, “Yeah, so I was anxious about meeting my family, since like you said, they would be complete strangers to me. But when I first saw them, I immediately knew that something was weird. It turns out that there was a spell that made everyone look like different people. My mother looked like Index, Index looked like Aogami, heck even the American president on TV looked like Shirai-san.”

Mikoto was amazed, “Wow, a spell that switches people’s appearances? That is pretty weird. But did it alter the TV image, or did it actually affect the real president in the US?”

Touma answered, “Apparently it affected everyone around the entire world, but everyone still saw each other as normal, except for me and the person who cast the spell. Actually, the most awkward one was my little cousin. She actually looked like you, so I was very confused and a little weirded out when she immediately glomped onto me. Though, now that I think about it, I guess Last Order did the same thing in the amusement park. Anyway, at first I thought this was all some sort of prank, but I learned later it was a spell.”

Mikoto wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. She imagined herself excitedly jumping onto him and hugging and nuzzling him, and blushed profusely in response. Eventually, she replied, “Th-that does sound awkward. So what happened afterwards? Did you find out who caused the spell and why?” She wondered what the purpose of such a weird spell could be.

The boy replied, “Yeah, so the main effect of the spell was to bring an archangel down to Earth.”

The girl’s eyes widened, “An archangel? Are you telling me that angels actually exist?” The existence of magic had already been hard to believe, but this was even more incredible. 

Touma answered, “Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either until I saw it. Kanzaki and Tsuchimikado were also there, so she ended up fighting it while Tsuchimikado and I tried to figure out how to disable the spell.”

Mikoto was a bit confused, “Wait, why was your perverted friend there?”

The boy replied, “Yeah, I was confused about that too, but he revealed that he was actually also a magician!”

The girl was shocked to hear this, “Wow, I never would’ve guessed!” But that did explain why Tsuchimikado had been at the hospital that morning, he must have heard about the fight with Acqua from the other magicians. But then she realized, “Wait, he’s a student at your school, so isn’t he an esper too?”

Touma nodded, “Yeah, he’s both a magician and an esper, which is actually really dangerous for him. Espers are not supposed to use magic, since whenever they do, they get severely injured. I think it has something to do with magic and esper powers being incompatible or something. When Tsuchimikado used magic, he vomited a lot of blood. But even though he’s a Level 0, his esper ability, Auto-Regeneration, lets him repair his body somewhat.”

Mikoto’s eyes widened in shock, “That’s horrible!” She wasn’t planning to use magic herself, so she wouldn’t have to worry about that, but it was still a sobering warning. She then realized, “Wait, doesn’t that mean that any esper that can repair their own body with their ability, like Accelerator, could survive using magic?”

Touma replied, “In theory, yes, but it’s still really risky, since there’s a chance the damage is too much to heal.”

The girl agreed, “Yeah, that’s true.” She knew she could potentially heal her body if she further developed the Rampage Dress ability she’d been learning from Hokaze Junko, but that ability had side effects by itself, let alone the side effects from using magic.

Touma then continued, “So anyway, the craziest thing is that my dad accidentally caused that spell by arranging thousands of good luck charms and souvenirs around their new house. It wouldn’t work for me to negate them one at a time, so Tsuchimikado ended up having to destroy the entire house to break it. Fortunately, my parents were able to move back into the old house.” He left out a few details, such as Tsuchimikado pretending to betray him or the damage he’d suffered for using magic as an esper, though he made a note to himself to mention the latter point later.

The girl was completely astounded by his story. “Wait, so you’re telling me that your dad set up a huge world-altering spell by accident? Why did he even have so many good luck charms and souvenirs?” She wondered whether his dad was some sort of hoarder.

Touma answered, “Apparently, my misfortune was even worse in my childhood, and scared away both other kids and adults. My dad would try giving me good luck charms, but they would never work because my right hand negates all my luck. That’s actually why they decided to send me to Academy City. They hoped that people here wouldn’t be so superstitious.” He felt sad that his parents had to go through all that because of him, and he was grateful that they sent him to Academy City, since he got to meet so many people, including his girlfriend Mikoto.

Mikoto was surprised at his reason for coming to the city in the first place. “So that’s why you came here. I didn’t know you had such a bad childhood.” She knew he often complained about his bad luck, but having it drive away any potential friends sounded absolutely awful. The girl wondered for a moment if it wasn’t some sort of blessing that he didn’t remember his childhood, but then berated herself for thinking something like that.

The boy replied, “Well, neither did I, until he told me. You know, I actually got a bit mad at him for trying to cure my bad luck.” 

Mikoto was surprised to hear this. Touma often complained about his misfortune, so why would he get so mad at his father for trying to alleviate it? She asked, “Is it because it never worked, even after so many tries? Or is it because it’s a part of who you are?”

Touma was glad that she understood, “Yeah, because it’s a part of who I am. Yes, a lot of bad things happen to me because of my misfortune. But it also helps me better understand when people are suffering, so I can help them out.”

The girl gave him an adoring smile, “You really are incredible, aren’t you?” She really admired how he was able to have such a positive outlook on his misfortune, and use it to help other people in need.

The boy blushed in response to her earnest praise, uttering, “Thanks, Mikoto.”

At this point, the waitress delivered their food, and they began digging into their meals. Mikoto then wondered, “How do you fight against magicians if they can use multiple different types of spells? Isn’t it hard to know what to expect?”

Touma pondered her question for a few seconds before answering, “Well, it’s sort of easier for me in a way because I know my Imagine Breaker will negate any magic it touches, without me having to figure out what kind of magic it is. Whenever you’re in a fight, you probably have to think about whether you’re using the right type of ability and if it’s strong enough, right? I don’t really have to think about that, I just have to raise my right fist.”

Mikoto was impressed by his analysis, “You make a good point there. I mean, it’s usually not too hard for me to decide which move to use, but sometimes I do have to think about it a bit. But even with your ability, there could still be an unexpected attack that catches you off guard, right?”

Touma nodded, “Yeah, I have a pretty good reaction time, but I do sometimes take hits. But as long as I can get back up, I’m still in the fight. And if the fight goes on long enough, I can often figure out the patterns behind the magic and find some sort of weakness.”

The girl mused, “I suppose that makes sense. I’ve certainly done that before when battling other espers, but it’s a lot easier to figure out powers that are scientifically based.”

Touma then replied, “Yeah, that’s true. So for example, there’s Terra of the Left, who Itsuwa and I fought against. He used a spell that let him give one object a higher precedence than another. So if Itsuwa tried to hit him with her spear, he’d place his body on a higher precedence than the spear, which would make her attack useless. He had a blade made of flour, and he also used this spell to put the flour blade on a higher precedence than our weapons or our bodies.”

Mikoto observed, “That seems like a pretty straightforward spell. So was he able to do that whenever he wanted? And could he apply that effect multiple times at once?” 

The boy grinned at her, glad that she was thinking on the right track, “No, he could only use that effect once at a time. So I just had to use an object he didn’t specify to defend myself with. You probably wouldn’t have had too much trouble defeating him, since you can attack in multiple different ways.” 

The girl felt she was making some progress, but she noted, “But that’s just one spell, right? Was that the only one he used? If so, he must not have actually been that strong.” She was surprised that this other member of the Right Seat of God was so weak compared to Acqua.

Touma chuckled, “Yeah, that’s exactly what I told him! There are definitely much stronger magicians that I’ve faced. But they all follow some sort of rules, even if they’re not based on scientific laws. If you can figure that out, fighting against them gets a lot easier.”

Mikoto sighed, “It still sounds pretty complicated, but at least it’s nice to know that there is some reasoning behind how magic works.”

During this time, the TV that was playing in the restaurant showed news of the Eurotunnel bombing. Apparently, the underwater railway tunnel between the United Kingdom and France had been bombed, forcing it to shut down completely. It seemed that, though this damaged both the British and French economies, the British economy was much more at risk due to being heavily reliant on it.

Touma was a bit confused by this, “Can’t they just do their trade by sea or air instead? They’re an island country, right?”

Mikoto replied, “It seems the British reduced the capacity of their ports to focus on that land connection. But it certainly is strange, since after all, it’s much easier to transport things by water or air.” She thought for a bit and then wondered, “Could this have anything to do with those Right Seat of God guys? Weren’t they behind those religious protests in France?”

The boy’s eyes widened, “It could be, they’re definitely willing to stir up trouble like this. Though I’m not sure what their goal would be in this case.”

Mikoto frowned, “Well, it’s already led to tension between the UK and France. Maybe that helps them somehow?”

Touma shrugged, “Yeah, I don’t really know. But if they did cause it, we’ll probably find out more pretty soon.” If so, he knew that he would probably get into another fight. But he decided to enjoy the current respite he was getting. 

By now, they had finished their food, so they then left the restaurant and began heading back to Touma’s dorm. Mikoto looked forward to learning about exactly how magic worked, even if it would be from Index.

* * *

A bit later, the two of them entered Touma’s dorm room, with the boy announcing, “I’m home!” 

Index greeted them, “Welcome home, Touma! Oh right, you’re here too, Short-Hair.” Touma had previously asked her to help teach Mikoto about magic, so she had known that Mikoto was coming. While she was starting to get used to Mikoto always being around Touma now, Index was still a little annoyed that she didn’t get to spend as much time with Touma anymore.

Mikoto and Touma sat down next to each other on the living room floor, leaning against the bed. Touma casually wrapped his arm around the girl’s waist, and Mikoto laid her head on his shoulder. 

Index asked, “Touma, why does she need to know about magic? Espers aren’t supposed to be involved in the Magic Side!” She was still a little annoyed that Mikoto was involved in the fight against Acqua of the Back while Index had been left in the dark, so she didn’t like the idea of the other girl getting even more involved in the Magic Side. 

Touma replied, “Well, she was there the first time we fought against Acqua. That might happen again with other magicians, so I figured it’s best if she learned about magic.” He didn’t want Mikoto to get hurt due to not being adequately informed about magic.

Index frowned, wondering why he seemed to be okay with Mikoto fighting against magicians, but always tried to keep Index out of those fights. Nevertheless, she began, “All right, Short-Hair. The first thing you should know is that magic is something completely different from esper powers. It was first created by untalented people to do what talented people could do.”

Mikoto questioned, “What do you mean by talented people, Index?” 

Index replied, “These talented people were the ones with natural esper powers. Untalented people were jealous of them and of religious miracles, so they created magic.”

Mikoto nodded in understanding, “Oh, you mean Gemstone espers. That’s right, in rare cases, an esper can naturally result from their environment without going through the Power Curriculum. Apparently Gemstones have existed for a long time, even before Academy City was founded. Does that mean that magic’s been around for a while too? And can anyone use magic?”

Index replied, “Yes, magic has been around for thousands of years. And since it was created by untalented people, it shouldn’t be used by talented people. The two power systems are incompatible. But anyone who’s not an esper can use magic.”

Mikoto replied, “Oh yeah, Touma told me about that earlier, how espers can get really injured if they use magic.” The girl thought back to his description of what happened to Tsuchimikado when he used magic and winced. After composing herself, she continued, “So, magicians can use multiple spells, right? For espers, we can only have one specific power, though it’s possible to have multiple abilities based on that power. Are there any restrictions or limitations on what spells can be used?”

Index explained, “That’s right, Short-Hair, but a magician’s spells are all usually based on a set of laws, from religion or other mythologies. For example, there are Norse magicians and Aztec magicians, but there are also magicians that use multiple different bases.”

Touma then said, “Yeah, like how the Amakusa use spells with a mix of Christian, Shinto, and Buddhist influences.” He recalled how they created effective spells using ordinary items by adapting themselves to their cultural environment.

Mikoto replied, “Huh, I didn’t realize that. That Saint Destroyer spell was a Christian one, right?” Her guess was based on the giant cross that had been prominently displayed, as well as Acqua mentioning the Son of God.

Index nodded, “Yes, it’s based on the crucifixion of the Son of God. But they have other spells with more Eastern influences. But no matter the origin, casting spells often requires making some sort of preparations or using symbolic tools.” This was one of the restrictions of using magic, compared to esper powers. 

Mikoto thought back to the previous battle, “You mean like Itsuwa-san’s spear? Or how she had to set up those random items around Touma to attempt a healing spell on him? Most esper abilities don’t require something like that, though I have to carry around coins to use my railgun.”

Touma explained, “It’s very common with magicians. I’ve seen one magician who uses rune cards, another who uses a binder of flash cards, and another who writes with chalk on the ground or walls to cast their spells. And there are magicians who use the movement of their weapon to cast their spells, like the Amakusa.”

Mikoto nodded, “Okay, I think I’m starting to get this. But the one big thing I’m confused about is, how does magic work on a fundamental level? Esper powers are the result of one’s Personal Reality, so what’s the mechanism that magic works by?”

Index the began to explain, “Humans have a special type of energy flowing through their body. Magicians can refine this inner life force into mana, which is how magic is produced.”

Touma then made an analogy, “So it’s like needing to refine crude oil to gasoline before it can be used.” Magic still required the use of energy, but it had to be refined into the proper form first.

Mikoto mused, “Hmm, that still seems a bit vague, but I guess it’s not any worse than the explanation for Personal Realities.” That explanation involved an esper imposing their own reality on their environment by violating the Uncertainty Principle. There was the usual analogy to Schrodinger’s Cat, but it wasn’t a completely satisfying explanation. 

Index then continued, “To perform magic, magicians must use commands to manipulate their mana. It’s theoretically possible to do this from scratch, but it’s much easier to base these commands on an existing legend or story.”

Mikoto then replied, “So that’s why magicians use religion and mythology as a reference. But how do you come up with spells? Do you think of a power you want to use and find a legend that matches it, or do you start with a specific legend and figure out what type of power you can obtain with it?”

Index answered, “It can work in either direction. And if the legend involves some sort of special object, magicians can use a specialized tool that represents that object. For example, if it involves a legendary spear, using an actual spear when casting the spell is more efficient, or even something like a pole or an umbrella that represents it.”

Mikoto thought back to the Saint Destroyer spell Itsuwa and her group had used to finally defeat Acqua. She asked, “So is that why the Amakusa were using a giant cross, a nail, and that wire crown for that spell?”

Index nodded, “Yes, those were all symbols of the crucifixion. Since Acqua had a part of the Son of God’s power as a Saint, those symbols enhanced the Saint Destroyer spell.”

Mikoto tried summarizing, “So basically, magic powers and spells require the use of mana, which is refined from a magician’s life energy. And they are usually based on religious stories or other legends, and you can use props that represent parts of those legends to enhance them. Is that right?”

Touma nodded, “Yeah, that’s the gist of it. Index knows a lot about the specifics behind all those legends, but when I fight a magician, I usually have to wing it and figure out the basic idea behind what they’re doing.”

Index then pouted and complained, “Touma keeps leaving me behind when he goes to fight against magicians, even when my knowledge would help him a lot!” He had been doing that ever since he had met her, no matter how many times she complained.

The boy replied, “Hey, sometimes I suddenly get into fights and can’t reach you for help. Besides, I don’t want you to get in danger if you don’t have to.” Although Index could use Spell Intercept to interfere with enemy magic, she couldn’t cast any spells herself outside of John’s Pen mode, so Touma knew that she’d be in danger in any fight.

Mikoto sympathized a bit with the other girl, knowing that Touma had often gone into fights alone rather than asking for help. She was happy that Touma had accepted her help, even if it hadn’t been that useful, but she wasn’t sure if that would continue in the future. Wanting to defuse the tension, she turned to Index and asked, “So, how do people become magicians in the first place?”

Index answered, “People only become magicians because they have a goal they want to achieve which they may not be able to without supernatural powers. Western magicians choose a magic name based on their goal. For example, my magic name is Dedicatus545, The dedicated lamb protects the knowledge of the strong. The number is just to avoid duplicates.”

Mikoto grinned, “Wow, magic names are actually pretty cool! I guess they’re sort of similar to how each esper has a specific name for their power, though there are a lot of duplicates there too. Are they always in Latin?”

Index nodded, “Yes, that’s right. Anyway, magicians often join organizations with other magicians to try to achieve their goals. I am a member of the Anglican Church, and of a special division within it called Necessarius, the church of necessary evils. Because the United Kingdom is a country of magic, the Anglican Church had to develop ways to defeat other magicians.”

Mikoto then realized, “So that’s why you memorized all those grimoires. You’re basically a living library that the Anglican Church can use to deal with other magicians?” Not only did this allow them to combat any rogue British magicians, but it also allowed them to combat against foreign magicians.

Index replied, “That’s right, thanks to my 103,000 grimoires, I can analyze an opponent’s spells and find a way to counter them. And since these grimoires contain information on magic from all around the world, they can help neutralize any magic, no matter the origin.”

Mikoto said, “I see, that’s really smart! So do magicians form organizations based on their religion? The Anglican Church is one group, but there are also magic organizations for other religions, right?” She was beginning to realize that there was a lot more to religion around the world than she’d previously thought.

Index nodded, “Yes, for example, the Christian Church was originally a single organization, but over time it split up into multiple groups. Now, Christianity is divided into Catholic and Protestant denominations, and Catholicism is divided into three major branches: the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican Churches. All of these denominations have their own magical organizations.”

Mikoto was a little confused, “Wait, didn’t the Eastern Orthodox Church break off from the Catholic Church about a thousand years ago? And isn’t the Anglican Church Protestant?” She had learned about the history of these religions in school, so she knew a little bit about them. However, Mikoto knew that Index was much more knowledgeable about this, so she looked to Index to clear up her misunderstandings.

Index clarified, “You’re right about the Eastern Orthodox Church, but it’s officially known as the Orthodox Catholic Church, so it technically counts as a part of Catholicism. Both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches claim that they are the same as the original Catholic Church before the split, while the other one broke off. And while it’s true that the Anglican Church is often considered as Protestant, we still consider ourselves as a Catholic Church, and it shares many similarities with Roman Catholicism.” 

Mikoto was still a little confused. “Okay, I guess that both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches consider themselves the original Catholic Church, since they split in half in the Great Schism. But the Anglican Church came about because King Henry VIII broke with the pope so he could divorce his wife, right? And didn’t England partially justify their wars against Catholic countries like France and Spain as a defense of Protestantism?”

Index replied, “That’s true, but it’s not the full story. Henry VIII wanted to remove Papal influence over England so that the country would be free from foreign interference. Therefore, he made sure that the monarch was the head of the Anglican Church and wouldn’t have to listen to the pope. Perhaps you could say that the Anglican Church is politically Protestant, but religiously, it still considers itself as Catholic.”

Touma had been silently listening to the girls’ conversation for a while, since he felt he didn’t have much to say. He was aware that Index knew a lot about religion, but he was amazed that Mikoto knew a lot too. He now said in an impressed tone, “Wow Mikoto, you know quite a bit about this stuff!” He had learned a little about those in school, but clearly not as much as his girlfriend had.

Mikoto smirked at him, “Well, I did take a class on European history at Tokiwadai! It was actually really interesting to learn about countries other than Japan!” She then turned back to Index and asked, “So what about the Protestant denominations? Do they also have magic organizations?” She noticed that Index focused on the Catholic half of Christianity, but glossed over the Protestant half.

Index explained, “There are some Protestant magic organizations, but none of them have close to as much influence compared to the three main Catholic denominations. In Europe, the only major country with a large proportion of Protestants is Germany, and even that is evenly split between Protestants and Catholics. The United States also has a lot of Protestants, but it has a secular government, so magic has very little influence there.”

Mikoto then mused, “So whether a religion is influential in terms of magic is based on whether it has major political influence over a major country?”

Index affirmed, “Yes, because having the backing of a country makes magic organizations so much stronger. For example, the Anglican Church has a major role in the British government, and also some influence in the British Commonwealth countries. The Eastern Orthodox Church is very influential in Russia and Eastern Europe, and the Roman Catholic Church has a major influence over France, Italy, and a bunch of other countries in Western Europe and Latin America.”

Mikoto mused, “Wow, I never realized that religion was still such a major player in those countries. It’s a huge difference compared to Academy City.” Indeed, pretty much everyone in Academy City was nonreligious. She then said, “So are there non-Christian magic groups too? Apparently I’ve run into an Aztec magician before, but most of the ones Touma has fought seem to be Christian.”

Index answered, “Well, Christianity is the largest religion in the world, so that’s why Christian magicians are so common. Islam also has a lot of followers, but Muslim magicians are not as common. But there are plenty of magic groups from other religions, such as ones using Aztec or Norse mythology, as well as Buddhist and Hindu magicians.”

Since both of them had mentioned Aztec magicians, Mikoto suddenly recalled her time in Liberal Arts City. She said, “You know, when my friends and I visited Liberal Arts City, there were these weird craft called Mixcoatl and Xiuhcoatl attacking it. I think those are Central American words, so could they have been sent by Aztec magicians?”

Index’s eyes widened, surprised that the other girl had encountered magicians on her own. She replied, “Yes, Mixcoatl is an Aztec god of war, and Xiuhcoatl is the serpent form of the Aztec god of fire, so Aztec magicians would definitely be able to create warcraft based on them.” 

Mikoto chuckled, “Wow, I can’t believe we fought against magicians without even knowing it. I guess the girl we met there was an Aztec magician.”

Touma smiled at her, “See, you actually have quite a bit of experience against magicians. You’re really smart, so I’m sure you’ll get the hang of fighting them over time.”

Mikoto replied, “Thanks, Touma!” She then turned to the other girl with a grateful smile and said, “You too, Index, you were a big help!” She had learned a lot from the other girl, and felt that she now had enough context to be able to fight against magicians more effectively. 

Index was a bit embarrassed by Mikoto’s praise. She looked away and muttered, “You’re welcome, Short-Hair.” She still didn’t like the idea of Mikoto becoming more involved in the Magic Side along with Touma, but she was pleased that the other girl at least acknowledged her expertise.

Touma was glad that the two girls were finally getting along somewhat. Although he was a little apprehensive about his girlfriend becoming involved in Magic Side fights, he was glad that she at least won’t be as blindsided in the future. 

  
  
  



	21. Final Day of Peace

Mikoto was currently by herself at Joseph’s. It was a half day of school, and she planned to have an early lunch before returning to Tokiwadai for the Ichihanaran Festival preparations. As she cut her steak into smaller pieces, she glanced around at the few other customers. She noticed her boyfriend’s classmate Fukiyose sitting with another girl who was probably another of his classmates, as well as what seemed to be a PE teacher. At another table was a girl with glasses that seemed to be a hologram. Mikoto wondered with frustration, “ _ Why are there so many girls with giant boobs here?” _ Her eyes then widened as deduced,  _ “Wait, if everyone else here is like this, maybe there’s something in their food that makes them grow!”  _ Mikoto thus started eating the steak much faster than before.

As she ate, the girl thought back to what she and her friends had just gone through. After they’d gone though the jailbreak trial, Uiharu had been kidnapped. While trying to rescue her, they’d run into a girl, Shundan Kimi, who had somehow acquired a dragon in her right arm, which Mikoto had been unable to defeat until Uiharu weakened the girl using the AIM jammers. Even more incredibly, that dragon was one of the eight dragons that Touma had used to save her during the Daihasei Festival. Mikoto wondered,  _ “Did that dragon somehow escape from Touma’s right arm and join with that girl instead?”  _

Suddenly, her phone vibrated on the table. She wondered who was calling her, since she knew that Kuroko wouldn’t be calling her at this time of day. Mikoto picked up the phone and saw that it was her boyfriend who was calling her. She quickly brought it up to her ear and said, “Hello?”

Touma immediately exclaimed, “Sorry, Mikoto, I’m trying to sneak into a subway station. Do you know how to open an electronic shutter door lock?” 

Mikoto was really confused, “Wait, hold on! Why do you need to sneak into a subway station? Do you need to get into an area accessible only to employees?” 

The boy replied, “No, there’s just a shutter over the entrance. That’s not too surprising, since it’s an emergency situation and the last train would’ve left by now anyway.” 

The girl was even more confused now, “The last train?” It was not even noon yet, so it didn’t make any sense for there to be a subway station whose final train would’ve already left by now.

Touma then realized why she was confused, “Oh sorry, Biri-Biri, I forgot about the time difference. Were you in class?”

Mikoto shook her free hand and replied, “No, I’m at a restaurant, so you’re not disturbing me or anything. But where the hell are you that there’s a time difference?”

The boy answered, “I’m in London.” Indeed, he was with Index and Princess Villian in front of a subway station, hoping to use it to reach a special train car with a magic circle near Buckingham Palace. By destroying that magic circle, Touma would be able to prevent Princess Carissa from stabilizing Curtana Original, which she was currently using to launch a coup.

Mikoto’s eyes widened in shock. She knew that Touma had been overseas before, but according to the news, the streets of the British capital were almost completely deserted, with people being forcibly gathered into large facilities, not even allowed to return to their homes. The British government hadn’t made any official announcement yet, but it seemed likely that there was some sort of coup underway. The girl recalled how the Eurotunnel bombing had raised tensions between that country and France, and she quickly realized that her boyfriend had once again gotten involved in a dangerous incident. 

In a worried tone, she replied, “How did you even get there, Touma? And what’s going on, is there really a coup?”

Touma was a bit surprised that she knew what was going on in London, but he figured it was being covered in the news. He replied, “Yeah, one of the princesses has launched a coup, and we’re all trying to stop it. As for how I got here, that bastard Tsuchimikado gassed me and Index at home and then dumped us at the airport. He stole all the money from my wallet and replaced it with British pounds, so I couldn’t get back home. So we were forced to take a flight to London.”

Mikoto rubbed her head in exasperation, “What kind of scumbag friends do you have, you idiot? But since he was the one who forced you to go, I guess this is an incident related to the other side, right?” Now that she knew that the UK was a major country on the magic side, it wasn’t surprising that the royal family would be involved in magic.

The boy replied, “Yeah, it is. Anyway, I really do need help with this shutter lock. Can you help me?”

The girl sighed, “Sure, tell me what kind of lock it is.” She wryly questioned herself,  _ “Should I be pleased or annoyed that he’s calling me for tech support?” _

Touma soon sent her a picture of the lock in question, and Mikoto quickly replied, “That looks like a Marvelous Lock 225 Passive. If you remove two of the clasps below the panel, the maintenance jack should come out.”

The boy was stunned at her fast response, “Hey, isn’t the technology outside Academy City 20 or 30 years behind the technology inside? How do you know so much about the stuff used here?”

Mikoto lightly answered, “Well, Marvelous Lock is a company that makes locks for Academy City too, so that lock is just the same with lower specs. I wouldn’t immediately know what to do with a lock that was entirely developed outside Academy City, but I’d probably be able to figure it out. After all, since outside technology is so far behind, even the security in a military research facility would be lower than on an outdated computer system in Academy City.”

Touma sighed, “And here I am unable to even open a simple padlock.”

Mikoto smirked and teased him, “Well, then you’re at the technological level of the Edo period.”

While the boy followed her instructions, he chuckled and fired back, “You’re really good at breaking into things, aren’t you?”

Mikoto blushed a little, replying, “Sh-shut up! It’s not like I do that for any malicious reasons!”

Touma soon heard a noise from within the lock, and then the shutter began rising, opening up the entrance to the station. He feared it was way too loud, especially since there was no noise on the streets, but fortunately Carissa’s knights didn’t seem to detect it. He excitedly said, “It’s open! Thanks, Mikoto, you’re amazing!” 

The girl smiled widely at his praise, and replied, “You’re welcome.” She had quite a few things she wanted to say to him, but instead merely added, “Just, please be careful, okay Touma?”

The boy was touched by her concern and smiled, “I will, I promise. I’ll see you later, Biri-Biri!”

Mikoto replied, “Yeah, see you later.” She then hung up the phone. 

Over in London, once Touma put away his phone, Princess Villian said, “Amazing, to think that Academy City is so advanced that you can do that with just some help from a friend!”

Touma nervously chuckled, “Well, she’s the strongest Electromaster in Academy City, so she’s pretty reliable when it comes to something like this. And she’s actually my girlfriend.”

Villian felt a bit sad for some reason, but smiled and replied, “Wow, that’s great!”

Index crossed her arms in annoyance and said, “Touma, do you really have to praise Short-Hair all the time?”

The boy replied, “Why wouldn’t I praise her? She’s awesome!” He was so glad that he was able to get Mikoto’s help, and hoped that they would reach the special train car in time.

In response, Index merely sighed, knowing that there was no changing his mind on this matter.

Back in Academy City, Mikoto mulled over the major information she had just learned. She found it incredible that the United Kingdom, one of the world’s most stable countries, was currently suffering a coup. But then she recalled some events that may have led to it. The Eurotunnel bombing had severely damaged the British economy, and there was even a treaty adopted by the European Union that made France the sole nuclear power in the EU and required the UK to relinquish its nuclear weapons to France for dismantling. Perhaps the princess who had launched the coup felt that the UK was losing too much of its power to France?

But Mikoto wondered why these previous events had even happened in the first place. The Eurotunnel bombing could’ve been a random terrorist attack, but what about that treaty? The UK and most of the other EU members were supposed to be military allies within NATO, and it was such a provocative act to ban the UK from having nuclear weapons, especially since they had become a nuclear power well before France. She remembered how she had previously considered whether the Right Seat of God might have been behind the Eurotunnel bombing. If they and the Roman Catholic Church were behind this, they would probably have the ability to influence many of the other EU countries, including France, into these provocative actions against the UK. Mikoto wasn’t completely sure about this deduction, but it fit the pattern of previous disturbances around the world. In the end, she could only hope that her boyfriend would help resolve the situation and then return home safe and sound.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Mikoto was back in her dorm room, having finished her classes and festival preparations for the day. She had scheduled a video call with her mom, so she opened up her laptop on her desk and placed the call.

Her mother, Misaka Misuzu, appeared on the screen. The woman grinned as she saw her daughter’s face, “Hello, Mikoto-chan!”

Mikoto waved and replied, “Hey, Mama! How are you doing?”

Misuzu replied, “I’m doing well! How about you, dear? How’s school going?”

The girl smiled and replied, “It’s going well, we’re starting to prepare for the Ichihanaran Festival next month.”

Misuzu said, “That sounds exciting!” She then got straight to the point, asking with a grin, “So, how is that boy, Kamijou-kun, doing?” She was eager to learn if her daughter had made any progress with the boy she liked so much.

Mikoto blushed profusely, knowing that it was finally time for her to tell her mom the big news. She nervously played with her fingers and replied, “H-he’s doing great! Well, actually, about a week ago, I c-confessed to him, so now we’re g-going out!”

Misuzu beamed in excitement, “That’s great, Mikoto-chan! You finally overcame your tsundere nature and got the boy! Congratulations!”

Mikoto stammered, “W-wait, what are you talking about, I’m not a ts-tsundere!” 

The woman chuckled, “Come on, back during the Daihasei Festival, whenever I asked you about that boy, you’d always deny that you liked him, even though it was so obvious!”

Mikoto sighed, knowing that her mother had a good point. She replied, “Yeah, that’s true. Actually, someone I know told me that I should be most honest with him, and that’s a big reason why I eventually got the courage to confess.”

Misuzu gave her daughter a big smile and replied, “See, I was right! It’s okay to be a little tsun, and I bet Kamijou-kun finds that side of you cute. But you must remember to show him your dere side too!”

The girl shyly twirled a lock of her hair and said, “Yeah, I’ve been trying to do that, and h-he seems to really like that side of me.” Even before they had started dating, Mikoto had been trying to show him her sweet side, and it had worked out very well.

Misuzu replied, “Wonderful! So, what’s he like as a boyfriend? Does he spoil you a lot?”

Mikoto blushed as she recalled previous moments that she’d had with Touma, especially how he often gave her such warm hugs or played with her hair. She shyly replied, “Y-yeah, he always takes good c-care of me.”

The woman was glad that her daughter was in a happy relationship. She said, “That’s great! I’m so proud of you, Mikoto-chan! I was sure it would take you much longer to confess to him.”

Mikoto frowned as she thought about that possibility. If she hadn’t gotten that nudge from Misaka 10032, it might have taken her months to tell Touma how she felt, and by then it might have been too late. She looked down and admitted, “To be honest, sometimes I feel it’s too good to be true. Touma knows some other girls who are much more attractive than me, and I’m pretty sure they like him too. I sometimes wonder whether the only reason he said yes to me was because I was the one who confessed to him first.”

Misuzu was a bit surprised that her daughter was suddenly bringing this up, but it made sense, since she knew about Mikoto’s insecurities about her body. She tried to reassure the girl, “I think you’re overthinking this, dear. He must have liked you at least a little if he agreed to go out with you, and you already said that he’s a good boyfriend, right? You shouldn’t worry so much about those other girls. After all, you were the one who worked up her courage to confess. Sure, you may still have some growing to do in certain areas, but you’re still a beautiful girl! He already likes you just the way you are, so you shouldn’t worry about hypotheticals like that.”

Mikoto smiled at her mother and replied, “Thanks, Mama.” She still had some doubts, but she knew that the woman was right. Touma had been nothing but sweet to her ever since they started dating, and even when Itsuwa was around, he had never taken his focus off of Mikoto. 

Misuzu was glad to have cheered Mikoto up. She hoped that Mikoto and Touma would have a long and happy relationship. But now that the two of them were a couple, she considered whether to reveal a secret she’d been keeping from her daughter. She eventually said, “Dear, do you remember when you asked me why that boy had my contact in his phone?”

Mikoto narrowed her eyes, “Yeah, you said you met him one night in Academy City but didn’t remember much because you were drunk. Did something else happen?” She knew that Touma didn’t do anything to her mother, but it sounded like the woman was about to reveal something serious.

Misuzu answered, “Well, it was a few days after that big incident on September 30. I was worried about how dangerous the city was getting, so I actually was planning on taking you out of Academy City, Mikoto-chan.”

The girl was absolutely stunned by this revelation, replying, “Really?”. She had also been worried about the events of September 30, but Mikoto hadn’t known that her mother wanted to pull her out. It made sense now that she thought about it, but Mikoto then asked, “Then what changed your mind? Because you never told me anything about that before now.” 

The woman grinned, “Well, I was actually kidnapped by a Skill-Out gang, and Kamijou-kun saved me. He wanted me to call you for help, but I didn’t want to get you involved in that situation. It all turned out fine in the end, and I figured that with him looking out for you, I didn’t need to worry too much about you being in Academy City.”

Mikoto had to take some time to process this information, but she soon retorted, “Wait, you were kidnapped by an armed gang, and you decided not to call me for help?” After a pause, she sighed and conceded, “But I’m not surprised he somehow managed to save you.” She couldn’t blame her mom too much for that decision, since Mikoto had done the same thing before. 

Misuzu replied, “Yeah, and that’s why I think he’s such a great match for you! You better hold onto him, Mikoto-chan!” She could tell that Touma made her daughter really happy, so she wanted to make sure that Mikoto didn’t let go of him.

The girl gave her mom a smile and nodded, “Of course! Well, I have to go now, so I’ll talk to you later!”

The woman waved and replied, “All right. Bye, Mikoto-chan!”

Mikoto waved back, “Bye, Mama!” She hung up the call and sighed, relieved that she had finally told her mom about her relationship with Touma. The girl also appreciated the advice she had received, and hoped that she’d be able to eventually overcome her insecurities.

* * *

Later that evening, Mikoto was walking with Misaka 10039 to Saten’s dorm for dinner with her friends. It would be her first time hanging out with both her friends and one of her sisters, and she was looking forward to it. 

Mikoto turned to her sister and asked, “So, anything new with you guys?” It had only been a few days since she last saw her sisters, but she was still curious about what they’d been up to.

“Misaka is actually glad you asked that, Big Sister, states Misaka with a smug grin.” Misaka 10039 then leaned closer to Mikoto. “She and over 50 other Misakas were recently involved in a global military special operation, reports Misaka, whispering in your ear to keep it a secret, even though there’s absolutely no one around us who can eavesdrop.” 

Mikoto had a hard time believing this, replying. “Huh? What are you talking about? Is this some sort of weird joke?” Her sisters were very fond of teasing her, but it seemed like her sister was being serious.

“No, it’s not a joke, replies Misaka. There were about 50 Gemstone espers scattered around the world, and they were being targeted by the CIA for capture, explains Misaka, giving some background information. Therefore, one Misaka in a nearby location was assigned to retrieve each Gemstone and bring them to Academy City, adds Misaka, revealing the objective of the special operation.”

Mikoto was stunned to hear that her sisters were used for something like this. “Wait, Academy City used you guys to scoop up all the Gemstones around the world? Were they that scared of other countries being able to develop esper powers?”

“Yes, they were worried that the Gemstones would be captured and used as lab rats, which is why we all agreed to help, answers Misaka. Because there was a need to retrieve all the Gemstones quickly and simultaneously, we were ideal for the job, since we can instantly communicate with each other and we’re already stationed in many locations around the world, brags Misaka, proud of our success. Even though we are only Level 2 or 3, we were able to overcome all resistance and successfully retrieved all 50 Gemstones, who were all in different countries on all seven continents, including Antarctica, adds Misaka, emphasizing the scale of our achievement.”

Mikoto was indeed very impressed as it fully sunk in just what her sisters had done. She gave her sister a big smile and ruffled her hair, saying, “Wow, you guys are all really impressive! I bet if all of you worked together, you could defeat an entire army!” It was amazing that even a lower-level esper could wreak havoc against outside security forces. However, Mikoto was a bit concerned about one thing, “But will the Gemstones be safe in Academy City? They could just as easily be treated like lab rats here.”

“Don’t worry, Big Sister, the frog-faced doctor approved this operation, so we’re sure that the Gemstones will be treated well. However, there was one failure in the operation, reluctantly admits Misaka. She and the other Misakas in Academy City were supposed to protect Sogiita Gunha, the 7th Ranked Level 5, who is also a Gemstone. However, we were all defeated by a single intruder, who apparently went on to defeat the 7th Ranked in battle. Nevertheless, it seems that the intruder didn’t intend to capture him, and he’s made a full recovery, concludes Misaka, finishing her report.”

Mikoto replied, “Well, it’s good that everything ended well.” She was troubled to hear that her sisters had gotten hurt, but was glad that they had recovered. At the mention of Sogiita Gunha, Mikoto recalled the time she’d sparred against him by the vending machine, though she hadn’t known who he was at the time.  _ “He caught my railgun with his teeth! Sure, I was holding back a bit, but he definitely seemed stronger than me. He should probably be ranked higher.”  _ And according to Touma, the other boy had helped him fight against her when she was being forcibly shifted to Level 6.  _ “So he’s a Gemstone, that explains why his ability was so weird. I wonder what kind of intruder could’ve beaten him? Could it have been a magician?”  _ Mikoto had already seen first-hand that there were magicians stronger than Level 5’s, so it was certainly a possibility.

The two sisters then continued walking towards their destination, with Mikoto reflecting on all the big events happening around the world.

* * *

Soon afterwards, they arrived at Saten’s dorm building. Kuroko and Uiharu had already arrived, so the five girls sat down around the table to eat dinner. Mikoto and her friends had recently gotten out of the hospital after the fight against Shundan Kimi’s group, so they were all glad to be able to get together like this.

Uiharu brought her hand up to her chin and said, “I’m still wondering what that dragon in that girl’s arm was. I think it was able to use the energy from the black hole she created, but where did it come from in the first place? I don’t think it was a result of her esper ability.” She had seen the records of Kimi’s esper development, but those hadn’t really shed any light on the matter.

Saten then recalled, “You know, before all that happened, there was that urban legend about a white python that had escaped its owner and mutated into a giant serpent due to the toxic waste in the waterways. Perhaps it was referring to that dragon?” Once again, the girl had heard about an urban legend that turned out to be true, even the part about it escaping its previous owner, though she didn’t know that.

Kuroko frowned, “I still can’t believe she actually had a dragon in her arm, and that onee-sama was unable to defeat it.” She had only briefly seen the dragon the first time Kimi had used it to escape with Uiharu. But Kuroko had been shocked to hear that it resisted even a multi-railgun barrage with large pieces of metal. 

Misaka 10039 then took this opportunity to join the conversation. “Misaka is confused, what do you mean about this girl having a dragon in her arm, asks Misaka, a little frustrated at not knowing the proper background information.”

Mikoto turned to her sister and replied, “Oh sorry, 10039-chan. So a few days ago, a group of people kidnapped Uiharu-san, and we chased after them in order to rescue her. The leader of the group was a girl who possessed this giant white dragon in her arm. I fought against her, but was only able to win after Uiharu hacked into the AIM Jammers and somehow weakened the dragon.” 

“Hmm, Misaka is not aware of any esper power that can produce dragons, muses Misaka. Could it be a special ability like that boy’s right hand, wonders Misaka, searching for an explanation.”

Mikoto knew that her sister was actually pretty close to the mark. She considered whether to reveal what she knew about the dragon. On one hand, it wasn’t entirely her secret to tell, but on the other hand, her friends probably deserved to know about it after all they had gone through. In the end, she revealed, “Actually, I’ve seen that dragon before.”

Uiharu’s eyes widened, and she replied in shock, “Really, Misaka-san?” 

Mikoto nodded, “Yes, though I only saw it briefly during an incident that Touma was involved in, so I think he’d know more about it. I can ask him if he’s okay with telling you guys.” She knew that if she and Touma told her friends about the dragon originally belonging to him, then she would have to explain what really happened during the Daihasei Festival, and in particular how her friends’ memories had been altered by Shokuhou. Mikoto feared how her friends would react to that revelation.

Saten smiled at her friend and replied, “All right, that sounds fair.” Realizing that Mikoto probably wouldn’t say much more, she decided to change the subject, asking in a teasing tone, “So, how are things going with Kamijou-san?”

Mikoto blushed at the sudden question about her relationship. She looked down and fidgeted with her fingers, answering, “It’s going r-really well! I mean, w-we’ve only been going out for just over a week, but we already have a pretty close bond. He’s always really sweet to me, and I miss him whenever we’re apart.” The girl was really happy with her relationship. Not only had they done normal couple things, but they had even fought together as well, though it hadn’t been that successful. Mikoto hoped that this could change in the future, though.

“Have you gone all the way yet, Big Sister, asks Misaka, curious about how far your relationship with the boy has gone, but also wanting to tease you a little.”

Saten nodded with a big grin, “That’s a great question, 10039-san! I want to know the answer too!”

Mikoto’s face reddened even further, and she stammered, “Wh-what, don’t be silly, we’ve only been k-kissing and c-cuddling a bit.” For a few moments, she imagined going a bit further, having make-out sessions with Touma or perhaps even feeling each other up, but she then shook her head to clear herself of those thoughts before her head exploded.

Uiharu smiled at her friend and said, “Wow, that’s surprisingly wholesome! With how long you’ve liked him, I was sure that you would’ve gone further by now!”

“Oh, I expected you to have gotten much bolder by this point, Big Sister, but it seems that’s not the case, notes Misaka, pleased with your embarrassed reaction.”

Kuroko frowned, not liking where the conversation was going. She requested, “Onee-sama, I know I’ve blessed your relationship with that gentleman, but it still hurts my heart to hear about the details. Could we please change the subject?” It would still take some time for her to move on from Mikoto.

Mikoto sighed in relief and smiled at her best friend, “Sure, Kuroko. We can talk about something else.” She was glad for an excuse to change the subject to avoid further teasing from her friends.

Uiharu then started a new topic, “Have you guys heard the news about what’s going on in the UK? Everything was suddenly locked down during the night, and people were speculating that there was a coup! But it seems things are back to normal now.” 

Mikoto replied with a nervous smile, “Yeah, I saw that on the news too, what a crazy situation! But at least it’s over now, right?” She had been worried about Touma after his call to her that morning, since he was getting involved in stopping the coup. She was relieved that he seemed to have succeeded in stopping it, and she hoped that he’d come back home to Academy City soon.

“Yes, the Misakas stationed in London can confirm that there was an attempted coup by one of the princesses against the queen, and that it was defeated a few hours ago, reports Misaka, taking advantage of access to local information.” Although the British government hadn’t made any official announcements to the rest of the world, Queen Elizard had communicated with every single inhabitant of the UK when giving them the power to fight, so the existence of a coup was by now common knowledge throughout the country.

Saten then said, “It’s kind of hard to believe that something like that could happen in a country like the UK. It’s an advanced western country, after all.” 

Mikoto leaned back a bit and mused, “You know, I wonder if that princess who launched the coup thought that the UK was losing power to France and the rest of the EU. After all, there was that treaty that forced the British to give up their nuclear weapons to France. Maybe it’s like those soldiers who tried staging a coup to prevent Emperor Hirohito from surrendering at the end of World War 2.”

Kuroko frowned and replied, “I’m not sure that just having to give up nuclear weapons is equivalent to Japan’s situation at that time. But in any case, if that’s true, it’s good that it was stopped before it led to a war against France.” She knew how quickly situations like this could potentially lead to a large and long conflict.

Mikoto grinned, “Yeah, thank goodness for that!” Although Academy City probably wouldn’t be dragged into a war between the UK and France, she knew that the possibility couldn’t be completely ruled out. And in any case, Touma would definitely get himself involved, since a war between European countries would probably involve the Magic Side as well. But since that prospect had seemingly been averted, the girl looked forward to seeing her boyfriend again when he returned home from London.


	22. Infiltrating into Russia

It was now October 30, and Touma was now in Russia. He was going after Fiamma of the Right, who had used the chaos of the coup in London to steal a spiritual remote control for Index’s John’s Pen mode. Furthermore, Russia had declared war on Academy City, and since Queen Elizard had said that there was some sort of alliance between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, Fiamma had likely engineered this war as well. And even though it had started as just a war between two countries, it was already being called World War 3. This was because India and China had joined the war on Academy City’s side, and also because war seemed likely between the UK and France due to their continuing tensions.

But he had a more immediate concern, directed at the girl who was walking beside him, “Lessar, what are you doing here?” Somehow, the New Light magician he had briefly met back in London had caught up with him in Russia.

Lessar gave him a teasing grin as she replied, “Well, I’m not here on the orders of the British royal family, and I don’t really have any grudge against Fiamma of the Right. I just figured it wasn’t in Britain’s best interests for you to die out here, so I decided to come here to support you. It’s good to have a professional magician who can also translate Russian for you, don’t you think?” 

Touma sighed in exasperation,  _ “If I wanted someone who knew Russian, I’d much rather be with Mikoto. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her for two weeks.”  _ As for the other part of her claim, he questioned, “Professional magician? I only remember you frantically running around London at night with a weird case. Are you even all that powerful?”

The girl bristled at the insult, “Do you want me to beat you up to show you how powerful I am? No one from Necessarius can help you, and I’ve even upgraded my weapon! My steel glove can now grab onto distant objects!”

The boy rolled his eyes, “I didn’t ask for your help.” He then asked, “How did you even find out that I was sneaking into Russia in the first place?” Other than his girlfriend, Touma had only told Elizard and Stiyl that he was heading for Russia, and even then he hadn’t told them the details of his planned trip, so it troubled him that he’d been found by Lessar so easily.

Lessar noticed Touma’s frustration and chuckled, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling guilty about not being fair to Index, who’s lying helplessly in a cathedral in London? After all, you’re supposed to be saving her, but you’re having a rendezvous with another girl instead!”

Touma decided not to dignify her with a response to those comments, letting out a resigned sigh instead. Lessar looked over at him upon not hearing any response, and she noticed something sticking out of his jacket pocket. She pointed at it and asked, “Hey, what’s that frog strap?”

Touma pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the strap, answering, “It’s called Gekota, though I don’t really know much about him.” He knew that Mikoto loved it and found it really cute, and that it was a really popular mascot, but that was the extent of his knowledge.

As the boy returned the phone to his pocket, the girl gave him a smirk and replied, “Ooh, a fancy mascot like that and you don’t know any details? Sounds like there’s a girl involved.”

Touma debated with himself on whether to confirm her guess, and decided to reveal, “Yeah, it’s actually a gift from my girlfriend.” 

Lessar froze for a moment as she processed this surprising information. She hadn’t expected him to be taken, and she muttered to herself, “I may need to change my strategy a bit, but I still have the advantage of being here with him.” 

She walked closer to him, her tail wriggling in the air, and said, “So, where is this girlfriend of yours? Did you abandon her back in Academy City to save another girl? I wonder how she feels about that.”

Touma tensed up a bit, having a bad feeling about what she was up to. As she approached him, he began slowly backing away.

Lessar licked her lips and said in a seductive tone, “Aww, are you feeling lonely without her? If so, I have some good news for you! I, Lessar, am not wearing any leggings under my skirt right now, just my panties!”

The boy’s eyes widened as he realized her intentions. He raised his hands in front of him and replied, “Woah woah, why are you telling me that information? How am I even supposed to respond to that?”

The girl was annoyed that he was brushing her off, and she angrily exclaimed, “Like a normal guy! Get behind me, lift up my skirt, and forget that other girl!” 

Touma was livid that Lessar was blatantly telling him to cheat on his girlfriend. He clenched his right fist and sharply replied, “You know what, absolutely no one in the world would blame me if I punched you for what you just said to me!”

Lessar suddenly backed away in fear. She hadn’t expected him to react so angrily, and she knew that he wouldn’t have any hesitations about punching her. The girl had been planning to seduce him to get him on the side of the UK, but he was being much more resistant than she had expected. After distancing herself from Touma and calming down a bit, the girl thought to herself,  _ “I guess I’ll have to back off for now, but I’ll try again later! He’ll surely get too lonely and desperate to resist soon!”  _

Touma looked over at her and became very concerned about the devious expression on her face. He realized that he would have to keep a close eye on Lessar. But then he turned his thoughts to Mikoto,  _ “I wonder how she’s doing back in Academy City. It must be a bit tense over there because of the war, though I don’t think the city is in any danger from Russian attacks.”  _ He hoped that defeating Fiamma would help bring the war to an end, after which he could finally return home. __

* * *

Late afternoon in Academy City, Mikoto and Kuroko were in their dorm room. While Kuroko was at her desk, Mikoto was lying down on her bed, looking up at her Gekota phone strap. She really missed Touma, who she hadn’t seen in two weeks. He had been in the UK during the coup there, but once it had been defeated, he had texted her saying that he was heading to Russia to save Index from Fiamma of the Right. A couple of hours ago, her boyfriend had again texted her, telling her that he had finally reached Russia, but also that a magician from Britain had managed to track him down. Apparently, she was now accompanying him and making weird sexual advances. Mikoto was really annoyed about this, but she trusted him not to betray her.

But she was also concerned about the war that had broken about between Russia and Academy City. Because of its advanced technology, Academy City was completely safe from Russian bombings, so the main theater of the war was in Russia itself. But she was much more worried about Touma, especially since the war had apparently been engineered by Fiamma of the Right using his influence over the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches. He was not just fighting against Fiamma, but potentially against Russian military forces as well.

If that was all, Mikoto might have just patiently waited for him to return home. However, Mikoto had just learned about a third threat to her boyfriend. She had just hacked into Academy City’s data to see if there was any information on him in relation to his presence in Russia. She had learned that the higher-ups were concerned that he might defect from Academy City to another organization, so they had prepared a special mission to retrieve him alive, and if necessary, to keep him alive with a similar method as that being used for the 2nd Ranked Level 5. Mikoto knew that Accelerator had left Kakine Teitoku in a crippled state, but he was apparently being kept alive in order to maintain the production of dark matter for research purposes. She did not want Touma to suffer the same fate.

She had even seen the detailed plans for retrieving Touma from Russia, which involved a paradrop from a military aircraft that was currently being prepared in District 23. It would be taking off soon, so Mikoto didn’t have much time to wait if she wanted to stop it. Thus, she got up off the bed and found a large bag. She opened her drawers and began picking out some winter clothing. 

As she started to pack, Kuroko turned around and asked, “What’s going on, onee-sama?” She had noticed over the past two weeks that her best friend seemed constantly worried. Kuroko knew that Mikoto hadn’t met up with her boyfriend during that time, which was a bit unusual, but she chalked it up to either the war or just them being too busy. But now, Mikoto was suddenly packing a bunch of clothes, implying that she was going to travel somewhere.

Mikoto looked at Kuroko with a nervous smile and admitted, “So, it turns out that Touma is in Russia right now. I don’t know the full details, but I know that he’s in danger.”

Kuroko tensed up as she realized what the other girl was about to do. The boy’s absence was now explained, but Mikoto, like usual, was going to march directly into a dangerous situation. She questioned, “How are you even going to get there? It’s an active war zone!”

Mikoto chuckled nervously and replied, “I’ll find some way. Could you please tell the others, Kuroko? I promise I’ll come back home after I drag that idiot out of danger.” 

Kuroko let out an exasperated sigh. She knew there was no dissuading the other girl, and in fact she was a little jealous that Mikoto was willing to go halfway around the world for Touma. She told Mikoto, “All right, just be careful, okay?”

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, I will.” She finished packing and quickly left the dorm. She was now on a mission to protect her boyfriend from danger and eventually bring him home once he defeated Fiamma. 

  
  


A few hours later, Mikoto was in an Academy City supersonic bomber flying over western Russia. Previously, she had ambushed the paratroopers who were tasked with retrieving Touma, knocking them out before they could even board the aircraft in District 23. She had then paralyzed the pilot with her electricity and forced him to fly her to Touma’s location.

The hijacked aircraft was now approaching the location that Mikoto expected Touma to be in. She turned to the pilot and said, “Okay, once we get there, I’ll parachute down on my own. After that, you can do whatever you want.”

The pilot replied, “Do you realize what a big risk you’re taking?” He was still in shock that this esper was going this far to save a single boy. 

Mikoto scoffed at that question, “You’ve already seen what I can do, I had no problem taking down a group of professional assassins. Besides, it doesn’t matter how risky it is. Between the side that is trying hard to kill an ordinary high school boy and the side that is trying hard to save him, which side do you want to be on? Which side would you be proud to be on?”

The pilot was silent, unable to refute her reasoning. Meanwhile, Mikoto frowned, thinking to herself,  _ “Ugh, this kind of thing really isn’t my style. I think Touma is rubbing off on me.”  _

Soon afterwards, the aircraft had reached the target location, so Mikoto grabbed one of the parachutes and jumped out of the plane, which was about three kilometers above the ground. The girl waited until she reached free fall before activating the parachute. She then slowly descended to the ground, and once she took the parachute off, she was surrounded by a snowy expanse on all sides.

Suddenly, Mikoto detected a presence behind her and heard some footsteps approaching. She turned around and saw a girl with an identical face, carrying a Russian assault rifle. She questioned, “You’re...?”

“Misaka’s serial number is 10777, kindly explains Misaka to Big Sister, who seems speechless.”

Mikoto was a bit surprised to see one of her sisters here. “Oh, hey 10777-chan! I’m guessing you’re with one of the cooperative institutions in Russia?” 

“Yes, we have successfully covered the evacuation there, so Misaka was allowed to take some private time off, announces Misaka in a leisurely mood while holding a dangerous rifle.”

Mikoto repeated with some confusion, “Private time?” She wondered what type of leisure her sister could have in this environment.

“Big Sister, are you here on private time too, asks Misaka for confirmation.”

Mikoto sighed at the unexpectedly revealing question. She answered, “Well, I’m certainly not here for business.” She had already taken care of the people targeting her boyfriend, so now her goal was to meet up with him.

Misaka 10777 looked over at her older sister and noticed something sticking out of her jacket pocket. “Is that a Gekota strap, asks Misaka, filled with curiosity.”

Mikoto took the strap about and held it in front of her, answering, “Yeah, I got two of these from a cell phone promotion I dragged Touma to, and I gave him the other one.”

“With that strap and especially the necklaces, it seems the Academy City Misakas have the advantage when it comes to that boy, deduces Misaka. Being long-distance is hard, concludes Misaka, wondering how to change her strategy.”

Mikoto empathized with her sister. Her sisters in Academy City were able to see Touma regularly, but the ones in the rest of the world, including Misaka 10777, couldn’t. She smiled and patted the other girl’s shoulder, “Hey, cheer up, 10777-chan! I actually came here for Touma, and I’m pretty sure he’s close to here! So if you want, you can join me and we can go meet up with him!”

“Misaka likes the idea of searching for the boy, replies Misaka, grateful for the golden opportunity. But do you know where exactly to look, questions Misaka, wondering if you’ve thought this through fully.”

Mikoto nervously rubbed her head, admitting, “I know for sure that he’s around here, but I’m not sure about the exact location. I bet he’s involved in a battle somewhere.” Touma always ended up at the heart of the action.

“It seems you are as impulsive as ever, Big Sister. However, Misaka has intercepted encrypted Russian transmissions that indicate an ongoing battle against Academy City tanks and powered suits taking place a few kilometers in that direction, reports Misaka, pointing towards the location. Perhaps the boy will be there.”

Mikoto looked in that direction and mused, “Hmm, now that you mention it, I am detecting a lot of radio waves from that direction. Let’s head in that direction and find that idiot!” She was excited to finally see her boyfriend again after all this time, and so the two sisters began walking towards the battle. 

“By the way, why is that boy in Russia in the first place, asks Misaka, wondering how he got involved in this war. After all, his ability is useless against conventional military forces, notes Misaka.”

Mikoto internally retorted,  _ “Yes, but it can be used against magicians.”  _ Not wanting to get into the Magic Side, she instead told her sister, “He’s going after someone here to save a friend of his.”

“I see, so it’s the same pattern as usual, remarks Misaka with a smile. So, did you come here to help him fight against his foe, asks Misaka, interrogating your motives.”

Mikoto chuckled, “Yeah, it definitely is. I actually found out about a plot by Academy City to forcibly take him back. I took care of the soldiers who were going to carry out the plot, and hijacked their aircraft to come here. But now that I’m here, I also want to help him as much as I can.” The girl knew that she would likely be outmatched against Fiamma, just like against Acqua, but she hoped that she could at least make a greater contribution this time.

“You seem to be gaining even more experience in criminal activities, notes Misaka, somewhat concerned about her Big Sister.”

Mikoto gave her sister a smirk and retorted, “Hey, didn’t a bunch of you guys break into facilities around the world to retrieve those Gemstones?” She knew that the other girl was just teasing her, so she decided to fire back.

“We had proper authorization to do that, says Misaka, attempting to distinguish the two cases. However, she concedes that saving the boy is more important.”

Mikoto exclaimed, “That’s for sure!” Saving Touma was the most important objective for her, and she resolved to do whatever was necessary to achieve it.

* * *

By this time, Touma and Lessar were in a snowy plain, about 40 kilometers from Fiamma’s base. They had already encountered Fiamma once before, within the Elizalina Alliance’s borders. Even with Vento of the Front on their side, they had all been defeated by Fiamma, who was able to take Sasha Kreutzev. The two of them had then set out to find Fiamma’s base, but Touma had been sidetracked by a fight against Accelerator. After that, however, he and Lessar had finally made it to this location by riding in a supply truck.

This was as far as the trucks would go, so they had planned to sneak into the base via the underground train which was being used to transport materials to it. They were now in front of a large hole in the ground which led down to the underground railway tunnel. However, before they could enter the tunnel, they suddenly heard someone shout, “Hey, Touma!”

The boy turned around and was stunned to see his girlfriend and one of her sisters approaching him. He asked, “Biri-Biri? What are you doing here?” He checked out her outfit, which included a cute hat and skirt, as well as a warm-looking coat and pair of leggings, in contrast to his thinner high school winter uniform. Touma suddenly felt the urge to cuddle up with her. 

Mikoto walked up to him and gently poked him on the nose, smirking, “I came here to rescue you, you idiot!” She was actually really happy to finally see him again, but she tried to hold back a bit since they were not alone.

Touma blushed in response to her soft touch. Her finger was a bit cold on his face, but Touma felt a bit warmer nonetheless. He smiled back at her and replied, “Rescue me?” He knew that he was risking his life by being in a war zone and going after Fiamma, but she made it sound like there was a more immediate threat.

Mikoto brought her hand back and answered, “Yeah, Academy City tried to send some soldiers to forcibly bring you back, but they were nothing I couldn’t take care of. I was even able to use their plane to get here!”

The boy’s eyes widened as he processed what Mikoto just told him. His ability was useless against conventional military forces, so if it wasn’t for her, he might’ve been forced back to Academy City before he could take down Fiamma. And who knows what they would’ve done to him after that. 

Touma grinned widely and pulled Mikoto into a tight hug, exclaiming, “Thanks, Mikoto! You really are the best!” He was also really happy to see his girlfriend again, and relished having her in his arms again. Touma brought up one of his hands and stroked his fingers through the back of her hair.

Mikoto blushed at his sudden embrace, but she also wrapped her arms around his back. Resting her head on his shoulder, she replied, “Of course, I’m not going to let you get taken out so easily!” She enjoyed the comforting feeling of his fingers caressing her head, especially after two weeks of separation. 

After they hugged for a few moments, Mikoto lifted her head and pressed her lips against his. She felt Touma’s hand pull her head in closer as he began to kiss back. Once they finished kissing, they opened their eyes and leaned their foreheads against each other. Mikoto softly said, “I missed you so much!”

Touma gazed into her eyes and replied, “I missed you too!” He then grabbed onto her hands and softly caressed them with his thumbs. His hands now felt a lot warmer thanks to Mikoto’s hands. Touma then looked over at the other new arrival and said, “Hello there!”

“Hello, Misaka’s serial number is 10777, states Misaka, kindly greeting the boy. Because her cooperative institution has been evacuated, Misaka has been able to take some private time off, and she helped Big Sister find you here.”

The boy let go of his girlfriend’s hands and waved at Misaka 10777 with a smile, “Nice to meet you, 10777-chan! Thanks for helping her out!” He noticed that she was dressed in a military-style outfit, a Russian hat, and a radio headset, and that she was carrying an assault rifle on her back. Overall, she looked somewhat intimidating, but still cute. 

The girl then held out her arms and approached a bit closer. “Misaka is happy to finally meet you again, says Misaka, earnestly hoping for a hug.”

Touma simply replied, “Sure!” He walked up to the girl and embraced her, being careful with the gun on her back. He felt her wrap her arms around his back, and he enjoyed the hug. After a few seconds, the two of them separated.

“Misaka wishes she could see you and Big Sister more often like the others in Academy City, but she is glad for this opportunity, admits Misaka.”

Touma frowned as she lamented her situation. He figured it couldn’t be easy for her to be separated from the people closest to her. He tried consoling her, “Yeah, it sounds tough. But at least you can always communicate with the others, right?”

“That’s right, answers Misaka with a nod. And she can live vicariously through the ones in Academy City, so it’s not too bad, concedes Misaka.” 

While all this was going on, Lessar had been silently watching with mounting frustration. One of her main goals in coming to Russia was to seduce Touma. It had been a bit disappointing to learn that he had a girlfriend, but she’d tried to soldier on. Back when they had been riding in a carriage, she had tried unbuttoning her shirt and flapping her skirt, but the boy had just treated her like an ignorant child. She had been saving a revealing bra as a secret weapon, but that had been revealed too early and also had no effect. 

But now, his girlfriend had somehow managed to find him in the right place at the right time, throwing a big wrench in her plans. Lessar recognized Mikoto as the girl she’d met in Russia a few months earlier, and she knew that Mikoto was a formidable opponent. However, seeing Touma readily embrace the girl’s weird twin sister, Lessar decided to make a last, desperate move. She rushed towards Touma with outstretched arms, exclaiming, “Here, I’ll give you a hug too!”

Touma’s eyes widened as she began her attack. He quickly sidestepped her and shouted, “No thanks!” This left Lessar just hugging air, and she pouted as she realized her attempt had failed.

Mikoto immediately realized that this was the girl that Touma had been complaining about. She walked up to Lessar and sharply said, “I remember you, you’re that Lessar girl I met the last time I was in Russia! What the hell are you doing, harassing my boyfriend all this time?” She remembered working well with Lessar back then, so it was a bit disconcerting seeing the other girl was acting like this.

Lessar continued pouting and tried justifying herself, “Well, I just figured he would be lonely, since he abandoned you to come here after all! But now that you’re here, I won’t mind sharing him with you and your twin sister. Maybe he wouldn’t mind a foursome?”

Mikoto’s jaw dropped, and she was rendered speechless by Lessar’s audacity. But Touma was absolutely furious. He had been putting up with Lessar’s harassment the entire day, and now she was doing so right in front of his girlfriend. He tersely told her, “Hey, Lessar, I wasn’t kidding when I said I would punch you for saying something like that!”

Lessar jumped back in fright and frantically waved her hands, saying, “Sorry, sorry, I’ll stop!” Not only did Touma look ready to beat her up, but the two Misaka sisters were sparking as well. She knew when she was in a losing situation.

Touma sighed in relief. He turned to his girlfriend and asked, “You’ve met Lessar before?”

Mikoto nodded, “Yeah, it was when I did a demonstration of my powers at the Russian Shopping Center. We worked together when there was some weird incident there.” Her eyes widened in realization, and she asked Lessar, “Wait, you’re a magician, right? Was magic involved in what was happening there?”

Lessar, having recovered a bit, smirked at Mikoto, “Oh, now you believe in magic? You were pretty skeptical when I tried explaining it to you. But yes, there were magicians behind some of what happened there.”

Mikoto retorted, “Well, you just gave up explaining it the first time I expressed skepticism, and you never showed me any evidence, so of course I didn’t believe you back then.” She then turned to Touma and asked, “So anyway, what have you been up to here? You’re going after Fiamma, right?”

Touma replied, “Yeah, we’ve been trying to get into Fiamma’s base, which is 40 kilometers away from here. We were about to enter that tunnel and try to sneak aboard a freight train bringing materials to the base.” 

Mikoto excitedly pumped her fist and exclaimed, “All right, let’s go take him down!” She looked forward to working with her boyfriend to bring an end to this war.

However, before they could do so, some Academy City forces began carpet bombing the Russian positions, with shells that traveled faster than the speed of sound. They weren’t fired at specific targets within the base, but just in the general area, which put the four of them at risk.

Mikoto was able to deflect the fraction of shells that posed a direct danger to them using her magnetism. However, all the other shells produced bright flashes and loud shockwaves that forced them to lie on the ground for cover. Due to the flashes, it took them over 30 seconds for their normal sight to return.

After that bombardment was over, they heard the sounds of heavy treads and smelled exhaust gases. An Academy City tank unit arrived nearby and began firing on the Russian positions, soon joined by powered suits. A Russian tank force also began firing in return. Touma was glad that Mikoto was there to protect them from Russian counterfire, but that still left the problem of now to sneak into Fiamma’s base while this tank battle was going on.

Lessar stood up with a grin and exclaimed, “Yes, this is our chance!”

Touma looked at her with a confused expression, “How is this our chance? There’s a tank battle going on now.” 

Lessar explained, “We can use the chaos to sneak into the base. The Russian army is going all-out to defend the base, which means Fiamma doesn’t want to move. Either he doesn’t want anyone to know where he’s hiding, or he’s conducting some kind of magical operation.”

“Misaka doesn’t fully understand what’s going on, but how are we going to sneak into the base, asks Misaka, observing that the underground tunnel has caved in from the bombing and that the surface route is without any cover.”

Lessar gestured to Mikoto and replied, “She can provide cover for us, can’t she? We can even steal some of those powered suits or one of the tanks so we don’t have to walk all the way there!”

Mikoto perked up and added, “Yeah, I can definitely deal with the Russian tanks, though I’m not sure how the Academy City forces will react if we attack them.” She was a bit worried that her boyfriend could be captured, since he was still technically a target of Academy City.

Touma frowned and voiced his doubts, “Hold on, this seems a little too easy. The last time we tried sneaking into the base, Fiamma had about 200 Russian Orthodox magicians defending him. Since the Russian military forces are losing, I would’ve expected the magicians to come out to try to turn the tide, but there’s no sign of them. Assuming they’re still there, why is Fiamma just letting Academy City capture the base?”

Touma and the others suddenly heard Fiamma’s voice, “Hmm, isn’t it obvious? To invite in you and your all-important right arm!” He frantically looked around for the source of the voice, as it continued, “I can’t have you losing your right arm in a random attack. I intentionally left a gap open to lure you in!” The boy reached inside his jacket and found a doll made of flour, which disintegrated upon contact with his right hand. He realized that Fiamma had let him get away in their earlier fight, knowing that Touma would surely come after him.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Touma’s feet shook, before rising into a cliff. Mikoto, Misaka 10777 and Lessar were left on the ground, absolutely shocked, as the boy was lifted higher and higher. Once the giant piece of earth had fully separated from the ground, it started flying upwards at a much greater speed.

Mikoto looked up with a dumbfounded expression and exclaimed, “What the heck is that?” She glanced around, but while her sister was still next to her, it seemed that Lessar had disappeared, which led Mikoto to wonder,  _ “Did she get dragged up by that thing too?” _ In fact, Lessar had used her steel glove to latch onto the giant piece of earth, leaving the two Misaka sisters behind.

Mikoto clenched her fists in frustration. After all that effort she had taken to get here, it didn’t take long for her to get separated from her boyfriend again. And if she wanted to see him again, she would have to figure out a way to reach that fortress in the sky.


End file.
